Natixis Advisors LLC Has $1.51 Million Stake in Grifols, S.A. (NASDAQ:GRFS)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Grifols, S.A. by 20.3% to 212,585 shares, valued at approximately $1.51 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Grifols received a strong-buy rating upgrade from Wall Street Zen and has an average target price of $10.30, reflecting positive outlook from analysts.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.1404 per share, which will be paid on August 20th to stockholders of record.

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Grifols, S.A. (NASDAQ:GRFS - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 212,585 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 35,865 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Grifols were worth $1,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRFS. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Grifols by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 35,254 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in Grifols in the 1st quarter worth approximately $368,000. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Grifols by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 108,110 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $769,000 after acquiring an additional 18,066 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Grifols by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,452,728 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $17,439,000 after acquiring an additional 823,456 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Grifols during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $77,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Grifols from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Grifols in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Grifols from $7.60 to $10.30 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $10.30.

Grifols Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GRFS traded up $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.66. 781,192 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 971,304. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $9.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 2.64. Grifols, S.A. has a 1-year low of $6.19 and a 1-year high of $11.14. The company has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.56.

Grifols Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a $0.1404 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th.

About Grifols

Grifols, SA operates as a plasma therapeutic company in Spain, the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides immunoglobulin to treat immunodeficiencies; albumin used to restore circulatory volume and protein loss in pathophysiological conditions, such as liver cirrhosis, cardiocirculatory failure, trauma and severe burns; alpha-1 proteinase inhibitor, a plasma protein, used to treat a genetic disease known as alpha-1; factorVIII/von Willerbrand factor and factor IX, clotting factors for the treatment of hemophilia A and von Willebrand's disease, as well as hemophilia B; antithrombin III to treat hereditary antithrombin deficiency; Fostamatinib, a spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor; combination of fibrinogen and enzyme thrombin that acts as a biological sealant to control surgical bleeding; and plasma exchange with albumin used to treat Alzheimer's disease.