Alpine Associates Management Inc. Buys New Shares in Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO)

Alpine Associates Management Inc. bought a new stake in Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 342,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,581,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amundi boosted its holdings in Patterson Companies by 103.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 47,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 24,038 shares during the period. Burren Capital Advisors Ltd purchased a new position in Patterson Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $1,659,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Patterson Companies by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Patterson Companies by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 56,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 15,446 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Patterson Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $18,316,000. 85.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Patterson Companies Stock Up 0.0 %

PDCO opened at $31.13 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.37. Patterson Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $19.45 and a one year high of $31.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.99.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). Patterson Companies had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 2.37%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Patterson Companies, Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald Zurbay sold 1,962 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.08, for a total transaction of $45,282.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 222,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,746.88. This trade represents a 0.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.35 target price (up from $29.00) on shares of Patterson Companies in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Patterson Companies in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Patterson Companies in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.57.

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.