Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM) by 96.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,637 shares of the company’s stock after selling 182,014 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Core & Main were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNM. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Core & Main during the 4th quarter worth $115,555,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Core & Main during the fourth quarter worth about $99,734,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Core & Main by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,430,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,661,000 after buying an additional 1,416,907 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Core & Main by 1,259.4% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 556,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,351,000 after buying an additional 515,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Core & Main by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,839,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,069,000 after acquiring an additional 349,674 shares during the period. 94.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Core & Main in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Core & Main from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Core & Main from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Core & Main from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Core & Main from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.55.

Core & Main Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of CNM opened at $49.59 on Friday. Core & Main, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.22 and a twelve month high of $62.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.35.

Core & Main (NYSE:CNM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Core & Main had a return on equity of 24.71% and a net margin of 5.71%. The business’s revenue was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Core & Main, Inc. will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Core & Main

In other news, EVP John R. Schaller sold 21,868 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total value of $1,023,859.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,282.64. The trade was a 57.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John Weldon Stephens sold 41,963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.48, for a total value of $2,118,292.24. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,977.60. The trade was a 91.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 88,831 shares of company stock valued at $4,504,152. Insiders own 3.49% of the company’s stock.

About Core & Main

Core & Main, Inc is a specialty distributor focused on water, wastewater, storm drainage and fire protection products, and related services. The company provides infrastructure solutions to municipalities, private water companies and professional contractors across municipal, non-residential, and residential end markets, nationwide.