Patterson Companies (NASDAQ:PDCO) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Shares of Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 2,673,529 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 139% from the previous session’s volume of 1,116,706 shares.The stock last traded at $30.93 and had previously closed at $31.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on PDCO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Patterson Companies from $27.00 to $31.35 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Patterson Companies from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com started coverage on Patterson Companies in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Patterson Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners restated a “market perform” rating and set a $31.35 price target (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Patterson Companies in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Patterson Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.57.

Patterson Companies Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Institutional Trading of Patterson Companies

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PDCO. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Patterson Companies by 126,766.7% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 3,803 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Patterson Companies by 3,233.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 44,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 43,333 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Patterson Companies by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 77,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,405,000 after buying an additional 3,224 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Patterson Companies in the fourth quarter worth $4,291,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Patterson Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $6,172,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.43% of the company’s stock.

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.