UBS Group AG Sells 90,129 Shares of Bausch + Lomb Corporation $BLCO

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 90,129 shares and leaving it with 448,909 shares valued at about $7.67 million.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is “Hold,” with 4 Buy, 9 Hold, and 1 Sell ratings, and an average price target of $18.08.
• Recent results were better than expected, with Bausch + Lomb reporting Q1 earnings of $0.08 per share on revenue of $1.24 billion, both above estimates; insiders also bought shares in March.

UBS Group AG reduced its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 448,909 shares of the company's stock after selling 90,129 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.13% of Bausch + Lomb worth $7,667,000 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. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 729.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 55.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,112 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 3,246 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter worth $170,000. Mission Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in Bausch + Lomb in the second quarter valued at about $200,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 target price on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bausch + Lomb news, CFO Sam Eldessouky purchased 4,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 403,130 shares in the company, valued at $6,905,616.90. The trade was a 1.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP A Robert D. Bailey purchased 14,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.15 per share, with a total value of $250,390.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 231,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,976,913.50. The trade was a 6.72% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 33,300 shares of company stock worth $570,868 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.45% of the company's stock.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $16.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.58. Bausch + Lomb Corporation has a 12 month low of $10.99 and a 12 month high of $18.92. The company has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of -25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb Corporation will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

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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