UBS Group Trims Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) Target Price to $24.00

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) had its price objective trimmed by UBS Group from $27.00 to $24.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Patterson Companies from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, June 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Patterson Companies from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Patterson Companies from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Patterson Companies has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $28.40.

Patterson Companies Stock Performance

PDCO opened at $20.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.23. Patterson Companies has a 12-month low of $20.69 and a 12-month high of $32.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Patterson Companies had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 2.58%. Patterson Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Patterson Companies will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Patterson Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. Patterson Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 7,216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $180,327.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 230,072 shares in the company, valued at $5,749,499.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Patterson Companies news, insider Les B. Korsh sold 2,842 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.71, for a total value of $67,383.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 103,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,460,268.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 7,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $180,327.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 230,072 shares in the company, valued at $5,749,499.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,149 shares of company stock worth $415,851. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson Companies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $37,935,000. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in Patterson Companies by 268.5% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,431,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,201 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Patterson Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,162,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Patterson Companies by 7.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,018,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,003,000 after purchasing an additional 730,819 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Patterson Companies by 58.8% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,391,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,559,000 after purchasing an additional 515,299 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.43% of the company’s stock.

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.