Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) in a report released on Saturday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the stock.

PDCO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.35 target price (up from $29.00) on shares of Patterson Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Patterson Companies from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Patterson Companies from $27.00 to $31.35 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Patterson Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.57.

Patterson Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

Patterson Companies stock opened at $30.86 on Friday. Patterson Companies has a one year low of $19.45 and a one year high of $31.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.79 and a 200 day moving average of $23.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Insider Transactions at Patterson Companies

In related news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 1,962 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $5,140,746.88. This trade represents a 0.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PDCO. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 19,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Patterson Companies by 32.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Patterson Companies by 6.2% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 201.2% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 12,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. 85.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Patterson Companies

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.