Morgan Stanley Increases Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) Price Target to $31.35

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $27.00 to $31.35 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 1.39% from the company’s previous close.

PDCO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Patterson Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Patterson Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Patterson Companies from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $31.35 price target (up from $29.00) on shares of Patterson Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.57.

Patterson Companies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PDCO traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.92. The stock had a trading volume of 408,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,007,316. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.97. Patterson Companies has a fifty-two week low of $19.45 and a fifty-two week high of $31.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.00.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Patterson Companies had a net margin of 2.37% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Patterson Companies will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Patterson Companies

In other Patterson Companies news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 1,962 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.08, for a total transaction of $45,282.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,746.88. This trade represents a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson Companies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,935,000. Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Patterson Companies by 268.5% in the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,431,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,201 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 58.8% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,391,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,559,000 after acquiring an additional 515,299 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Patterson Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $11,183,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 83.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 902,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,775,000 after purchasing an additional 411,012 shares during the period. 85.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Patterson Companies Company Profile

Patterson Companies, Inc engages in the distribution of dental and animal health products in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The company operates through three segments: Dental, Animal Health, and Corporate segments. The Dental segment offers consumable products, including infection control, restorative materials, and instruments; basic and advanced technology and dental equipment; practice optimization solutions, such as practice management software, e-commerce, revenue cycle management, patient engagement solutions, and clinical and patient education systems.