Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 585,742 Shares of Coty $COTY

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC significantly reduced its holdings in Coty (NYSE:COTY) by 97.4%, now owning only 15,854 shares worth approximately $87,000 after selling 585,742 shares in the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors increased their stakes in Coty, with Caitong International Asset Management growing its holdings by 1,006.7%, ultimately owning 7,304 shares valued at $40,000.
• Coty's recent earnings report revealed a loss per share of ($0.05), missing the consensus estimate, while the company's revenue fell 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its holdings in Coty (NYSE:COTY - Free Report) by 97.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,854 shares of the company's stock after selling 585,742 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Coty were worth $87,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Coty by 22.4% during the first quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,191 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Coty by 140.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,506 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,214 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in Coty by 3.8% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 108,349 shares of the company's stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Coty by 0.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 844,292 shares of the company's stock worth $4,618,000 after acquiring an additional 5,272 shares during the period. 42.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Coty

In related news, CEO Sue Nabi purchased 260,000 shares of Coty stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.92 per share, with a total value of $1,019,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 32,127,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $125,938,961.12. This trade represents a 0.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Priya Srinivasan acquired 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3.84 per share, with a total value of $115,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 37,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $144,034.56. The trade was a 399.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 334,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,321,840 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Coty Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of COTY traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $4.13. 6,263,612 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,122,023. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Coty has a 1-year low of $3.67 and a 1-year high of $9.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of -9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 2.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.69 and a 200-day moving average of $4.97.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COTY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Coty from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Coty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $6.00 to $4.00 in a report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Coty from $6.00 to $4.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Coty from $4.00 to $3.50 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Coty from $4.50 to $3.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Coty currently 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.