Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.00.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Patterson Companies from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Patterson Companies from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Patterson Companies from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Patterson Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Patterson Companies from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevin Michael Barry sold 1,216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total value of $28,843.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $986,870.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 7,216 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,749,499.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin Michael Barry sold 1,216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.72, for a total value of $28,843.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $986,870.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,149 shares of company stock valued at $415,851. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies during the first quarter worth $1,339,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies during the fourth quarter worth $26,162,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 10.3% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 619,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,130,000 after acquiring an additional 58,084 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies during the first quarter worth $535,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 1,802.5% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 67,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after acquiring an additional 64,061 shares in the last quarter. 85.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Patterson Companies Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of PDCO opened at $25.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.06. Patterson Companies has a 12 month low of $22.29 and a 12 month high of $34.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 18th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Patterson Companies had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 20.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Patterson Companies will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Patterson Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. Patterson Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.00%.

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.