Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.00.

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

Insider Transactions at Patterson Companies

In related news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 7,216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $180,327.84. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Patterson Companies news, CFO Kevin Michael Barry sold 1,216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 41,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $986,870.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 7,216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $180,327.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 230,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,749,499.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,149 shares of company stock worth $415,851 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson Companies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in Patterson Companies by 201.2% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Patterson Companies in the first quarter worth $35,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Patterson Companies by 1,376.1% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Patterson Companies during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 85.43% of the company’s stock.

Patterson Companies Stock Performance

PDCO stock opened at $24.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.78. Patterson Companies has a 1-year low of $22.29 and a 1-year high of $34.53.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 18th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Patterson Companies’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Patterson Companies will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. Patterson Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.