Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 380,958 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,756 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.43% of Patterson Companies worth $11,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Patterson Companies by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 11,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Patterson Companies by 20.5% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Patterson Companies by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Patterson Companies by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Patterson Companies by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. 85.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Patterson Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

Patterson Companies stock opened at $31.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. 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 fifty-two week low of $19.45 and a fifty-two week high of $31.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.40.

Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). Patterson Companies had a net margin of 2.37% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Patterson Companies’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Patterson Companies, Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Patterson Companies in a research note on Sunday, February 23rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Patterson Companies from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Patterson Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.57.

Patterson Companies 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.