Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

HSIC has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Henry Schein from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Henry Schein in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Henry Schein in a report on Friday, February 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Henry Schein from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Henry Schein from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Henry Schein presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.10.

Henry Schein Trading Up 5.5 %

HSIC stock traded up $3.46 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,805,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,601,756. The stock has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.32. Henry Schein has a 12 month low of $60.60 and a 12 month high of $82.49.

Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Henry Schein had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Henry Schein will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Henry Schein

In other news, CEO Bradford C. Connett sold 4,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.15, for a total transaction of $287,161.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,688 shares in the company, valued at $4,460,251.20. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Philip A. Laskawy sold 2,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.04, for a total transaction of $184,988.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,762,147.20. This represents a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Henry Schein

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HSIC. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Henry Schein by 5.1% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Henry Schein by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,830,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Henry Schein by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 286,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,882,000 after acquiring an additional 18,458 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Henry Schein by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Henry Schein by 68.3% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 62,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,577,000 after purchasing an additional 25,474 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.62% of the company’s stock.

About Henry Schein

Henry Schein, Inc provides health care products and services to dental practitioners, laboratories, physician practices, and ambulatory surgery centers, government, institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care clinics worldwide. It operates through two segments, Health Care Distribution, and Technology and Value-Added Services.