BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 7,969 Shares of Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 33,257 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,969 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Patterson Companies were worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LRI Investments LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Patterson Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Patterson Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Patterson Companies by 2,084.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson Companies

In other news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 1,962 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 222,736 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,746.88. This represents a 0.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PDCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Patterson Companies from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho started coverage on Patterson Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Patterson Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.24.

Patterson Companies Price Performance

NASDAQ PDCO opened at $30.98 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.52 and a 200 day moving average of $22.88. Patterson Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $19.45 and a one year high of $31.79.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last released 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 net margin of 2.37% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Patterson Companies, Inc. will post 2.29 EPS for the current year.

Patterson Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 16th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Patterson Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.82%.

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.