Coty $COTY Stock Position Reduced by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. has drastically reduced its stake in Coty by 99.0%, selling over 4.2 million shares and now holding just 44,778 shares valued at approximately $208,000.
• Other institutional investors have increased their investment in Coty, with AQR Capital Management raising its position by 456.9%, now owning over 4 million shares worth around $22 million.
• Coty's recent earnings report revealed a loss of ($0.05) EPS, missing analyst expectations, and an 8.1% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in shares of Coty (NYSE:COTY - Free Report) by 99.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,778 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,255,514 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Coty were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Coty by 456.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,070 shares of the company's stock worth $21,981,000 after acquiring an additional 3,333,511 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Coty by 10.5% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,346,995 shares of the company's stock worth $122,239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,613 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Coty by 5.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,645,488 shares of the company's stock worth $205,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,055,771 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Coty by 1,803.6% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,912,082 shares of the company's stock worth $10,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QVIDTVM Management LLC bought a new stake in Coty in the first quarter worth approximately $8,779,000. 42.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Coty Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of COTY stock opened at $4.01 on Monday. Coty has a 52-week low of $3.67 and a 52-week high of $9.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.49 and a 200-day moving average of $4.84.

Coty (NYSE:COTY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 20th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.03) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Coty will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coty

In other Coty news, CFO Laurent Mercier acquired 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.96 per share, for a total transaction of $49,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 402,216 shares in the company, valued at $1,592,775.36. This represents a 3.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sue Nabi acquired 260,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.92 per share, with a total value of $1,019,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 32,127,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,938,961.12. This represents a 0.82% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 334,900 shares of company stock worth $1,321,840. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on COTY shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Coty from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Berenberg Bank reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $5.05 target price (down from $6.50) on shares of Coty in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Coty from $6.00 to $4.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $4.25 price objective (down from $6.50) on shares of Coty in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coty presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

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