Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 145,346 Shares of BrightView Holdings, Inc. $BV

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BV) by 89.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,292 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145,346 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BrightView were worth $192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BrightView by 5.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,879,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,162,000 after acquiring an additional 99,103 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in BrightView by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,268,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,118,000 after purchasing an additional 192,376 shares during the period. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BrightView by 3.7% in the first quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 5,038,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,405,000 after purchasing an additional 179,757 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of BrightView by 42.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 335,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,955,000 after buying an additional 100,420 shares during the period. Finally, Connors Investor Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of BrightView by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 188,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,389,000 after buying an additional 50,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other BrightView news, Director William L. Cornog acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.25 per share, with a total value of $562,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 70,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $787,500. This represents a 250.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BrightView Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BV opened at $11.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $13.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of -45.64 and a beta of 1.18. BrightView Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.42 and a 52 week high of $15.82.

BrightView (NYSE:BV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.12). BrightView had a return on equity of 5.03% and a net margin of 0.74%.The company had revenue of $717.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $726.13 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that BrightView Holdings, Inc. will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BV. Wall Street Zen lowered BrightView from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of BrightView from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of BrightView in a report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BrightView from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $14.00 target price on shares of BrightView in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.10.

BrightView Profile

BrightView Inc (NYSE:BV) is a leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States, offering a comprehensive suite of outdoor asset management solutions. The company’s core business activities include landscape maintenance, development and enhancement services tailored to a wide array of clients such as corporate campuses, healthcare facilities, multi-family residential properties, retail centers and municipalities.

BrightView’s service portfolio covers routine grounds maintenance, landscape construction and design-build, irrigation system installation and management, tree care, seasonal color programs and snow and ice management.