Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Patterson Companies from $36.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a hold rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Patterson Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Patterson Companies presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $36.17.

Patterson Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Patterson Companies stock opened at $32.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Patterson Companies has a 52 week low of $25.15 and a 52 week high of $34.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.31.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Patterson Companies had a net margin of 3.28% and a return on equity of 22.24%. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Patterson Companies will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 20th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 19th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Patterson Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.49%.

Insider Activity at Patterson Companies

In related news, insider Timothy E. Rogan sold 9,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.75, for a total value of $275,485.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 40,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,201,364.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PDCO. Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of Patterson Companies by 195.7% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 499.4% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 108.0% during the 2nd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 40.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Patterson Companies by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. 79.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.