Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 349,584 Shares of Medline $MDLN

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group increased its Medline position by 1,151.5% in the second quarter, purchasing 349,584 shares and bringing its holdings to 379,944 shares valued at approximately $15 million.
• Institutional buying was accompanied by significant insider selling: insiders sold 4.54 million shares worth about $161.9 million during the last quarter, while insiders retain just 0.81% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $47.42 target price. Medline recently exceeded earnings expectations, reporting quarterly EPS of $0.50 versus the $0.32 consensus, although the stock opened at $32.53, near its one-year low.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Medline (NASDAQ:MDLN - Free Report) by 1,151.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 379,944 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 349,584 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Medline were worth $14,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mass General Brigham Inc grew its stake in Medline by 167.6% in the 1st quarter. Mass General Brigham Inc now owns 70,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,131,000 after buying an additional 44,063 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Medline by 128.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,088 shares of the company's stock worth $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 29,282 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Medline in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,177,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in shares of Medline by 138.5% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 157,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,995,000 after purchasing an additional 91,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Medline during the second quarter worth approximately $40,430,000.

Insider Transactions at Medline

In other Medline news, major shareholder Private Ltd Gic sold 1,976,618 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.60, for a total transaction of $70,367,600.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,264,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $899,425,456. The trade was a 7.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas Golwas sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.77, for a total transaction of $3,677,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $878,766.23. The trade was a 80.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,538,896 shares of company stock worth $161,936,454. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MDLN shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Medline in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Evercore set a $39.00 target price on shares of Medline in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Medline from $53.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Medline from $53.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised Medline to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.42.

Medline Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MDLN opened at $32.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 4.33 and a quick ratio of 2.61. Medline has a one year low of $31.87 and a one year high of $50.88. The company has a market cap of $42.77 billion and a P/E ratio of 41.18.

Medline (NASDAQ:MDLN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.68 billion during the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Medline will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medline Company Profile

Medline Industries, Inc is a healthcare company that manufactures and distributes medical supplies and clinical products. Its offerings include surgical and exam gloves, personal protective equipment, operating-room supplies, wound-care products, patient-care items, laboratory products, apparel, and durable medical equipment.

The company serves hospitals, health systems, ambulatory surgery centers, physicians' offices, long-term-care facilities, home-health providers, and other healthcare organizations.

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