AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Coty $COTY

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Coty by 456.9% during the first quarter, acquiring over 3.3 million additional shares, now holding approximately 0.47% of the company valued at $21.98 million.
• Insider trading activity showed CEO Sue Nabi purchased 260,000 shares at an average price of $3.92 per share, indicating confidence in the company despite a recent earnings miss of ($0.05) per share.
• Coty's stock experienced a 2.7% increase and is currently priced at $4.13, but it has faced downward adjustments from several analysts who have reduced their price targets and ratings in recent reports.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Coty (NYSE:COTY - Free Report) by 456.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,063,070 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,333,511 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.47% of Coty worth $21,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COTY. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Coty by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,064,551 shares of the company's stock worth $21,329,000 after purchasing an additional 477,626 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Coty during the fourth quarter worth about $89,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Coty by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,370 shares of the company's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,191 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Coty during the fourth quarter worth about $12,981,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in Coty by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 214,291 shares of the company's stock worth $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 84,298 shares during the last quarter. 42.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coty

In other Coty news, insider Priya Srinivasan acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.84 per share, with a total value of $115,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 37,509 shares in the company, valued at $144,034.56. This trade represents a 399.52% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kristin Blazewicz purchased 29,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.30 per share, with a total value of $126,420.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 829,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,565,310.60. The trade was a 3.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 334,900 shares of company stock worth $1,321,840. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Coty Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE COTY traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,369,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,156,009. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $4.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Coty has a 1 year low of $3.67 and a 1 year high of $9.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 2.07.

Coty (NYSE:COTY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 20th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.06). Coty had a negative net margin of 6.24% and a positive return on equity of 5.18%. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Coty will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on COTY. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Coty in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Coty from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Coty from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Coty from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Coty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $6.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.06.

About Coty

Coty Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells beauty products worldwide. It operates through Prestige and Consumer Beauty segments. The company provides fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care products. It offers Prestige segment products primarily through prestige retailers, including perfumeries, department stores, e-retailers, direct-to-consumer websites, and duty-free shops under the Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Davidoff, Escada, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Jil Sander, Joop!, Kylie Jenner, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Orveda, philosophy, SKKN BY KIM, and Tiffany & Co brands.