Equity Investment Corp Increases Holdings in Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO)

Equity Investment Corp lifted its position in Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,028,964 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 289,295 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Patterson Companies were worth $62,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PDCO. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Patterson Companies in the third quarter valued at about $11,183,000. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,807,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Patterson Companies by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,455,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,924,000 after purchasing an additional 222,005 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Patterson Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $2,389,000. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Patterson Companies by 32.9% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 359,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,856,000 after buying an additional 88,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PDCO. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Patterson Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Patterson Companies in a report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $31.35 price target (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Patterson Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Patterson Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.57.

Insider Activity at Patterson Companies

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

Patterson Companies Stock Down 0.0 %

PDCO opened at $31.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Patterson Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.45 and a 52 week high of $31.79.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Patterson Companies had a net margin of 2.37% and a return on equity of 19.77%. Patterson Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Patterson Companies, Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson Companies 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.