Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Takes $605,000 Position in Bausch + Lomb Corporation $BLCO

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 35,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 20,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,249,000. Goldentree Asset Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 2,660,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,002,000 after purchasing an additional 77,323 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 52,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 175.3% in the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 861,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,976,000 after purchasing an additional 548,230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Bausch + Lomb Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE BLCO opened at $15.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of -25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.61. Bausch + Lomb Corporation has a 52 week low of $11.22 and a 52 week high of $18.92.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 4.21% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. Bausch + Lomb’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.07) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bausch + Lomb Corporation will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Sam Eldessouky bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.13 per share, for a total transaction of $68,520.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 403,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,905,616.90. This trade represents a 1.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brent L. Saunders bought 14,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.14 per share, with a total value of $251,958.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 966,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,567,095.50. This trade represents a 1.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $570,868. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BLCO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $16.00 price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Thursday, April 30th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bausch + Lomb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.08.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.