Welch & Forbes LLC Reduces Stake in Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ZBH)

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its stake in Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ZBH) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,072 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,549 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Zimmer Biomet were worth $1,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PFG Advisors increased its holdings in Zimmer Biomet by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 1,899 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in Zimmer Biomet by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 518 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Zimmer Biomet by 3.8% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 2,625 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Zimmer Biomet by 4.1% in the third quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 2,498 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Zimmer Biomet by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 756 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.89% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Chad F. Phipps sold 26,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.62, for a total transaction of $3,364,184.72. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,677,929.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ZBH shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Zimmer Biomet from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Zimmer Biomet from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Zimmer Biomet in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Zimmer Biomet in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Zimmer Biomet in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.40.

Zimmer Biomet Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE ZBH traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $120.86. 241,807 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,463,990. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.00 and a 52-week high of $147.50. The firm has a market cap of $24.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.03.

Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical equipment provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.07. Zimmer Biomet had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Zimmer Biomet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Zimmer Biomet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.78%.

Zimmer Biomet Profile

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a medical technology company worldwide. The company designs, manufactures, and markets orthopedic reconstructive products, such as knee and hip products; S.E.T. products, including sports medicine, biologics, foot and ankle, extremities, and trauma products; craniomaxillofacial and thoracic products comprising face and skull reconstruction products, as well as products that fixate and stabilize the bones of the chest to facilitate healing or reconstruction after open heart surgery, trauma, or for deformities of the chest.