Gabelli Funds LLC Lowers Stock Position in Bausch + Lomb Corporation $BLCO

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC cut its Bausch + Lomb stake by 23% in the fourth quarter, selling 101,000 shares and ending with 338,000 shares worth about $5.77 million.
• Other institutional investors showed mixed activity, with firms like Oaktree Capital Management and Glenview Capital increasing their positions, while institutional ownership overall stands at 11.07%.
• Bausch + Lomb’s latest quarter beat expectations, reporting EPS of $0.08 on revenue of $1.24 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with an average target price of $18.08.

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 338,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 101,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.10% of Bausch + Lomb worth $5,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oaktree Capital Management LP raised its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 3,245,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,909,000 after purchasing an additional 724,194 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP raised its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP now owns 2,660,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,002,000 after purchasing an additional 77,323 shares during the period. Glenview Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 210.8% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,855 shares during the period. Compass Rose Asset Management LP raised its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Rose Asset Management LP now owns 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,070,000 after purchasing an additional 180,000 shares during the period. Finally, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,776,000. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLCO. Citigroup lifted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $16.00 target price on Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.08.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

NYSE:BLCO opened at $16.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Bausch + Lomb Corporation has a 1 year low of $10.99 and a 1 year high of $18.92. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $16.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.59. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.10, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.59.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a positive return on equity of 3.60% and a negative net margin of 4.21%.The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb Corporation will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brent L. Saunders acquired 14,700 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.14 per share, with a total value of $251,958.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,575 shares in the company, valued at $16,567,095.50. The trade was a 1.54% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sam Eldessouky acquired 4,000 shares of Bausch + Lomb stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.13 per share, for a total transaction of $68,520.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 403,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,905,616.90. The trade was a 1.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $570,868 in the last quarter. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief.

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