Lazard Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Stevanato Group S.p.A. (NYSE:STVN)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Stevanato Group S.p.A. (NYSE:STVN - Free Report) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,154,117 shares of the company's stock after selling 649,073 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.38% of Stevanato Group worth $25,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Stevanato Group during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Stevanato Group in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Stevanato Group by 680.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,830 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Stevanato Group by 1,457.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,654 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 5,291 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Stevanato Group by 202.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,413 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 4,965 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on STVN shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Stevanato Group in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stephens raised Stevanato Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Stevanato Group from $24.00 to $23.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of €25.70 ($28.56).

Stevanato Group Trading Up 2.8%

STVN traded up €0.65 ($0.72) on Friday, hitting €23.97 ($26.63). The company had a trading volume of 266,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,248. The company has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 51.00, a PEG ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 0.51. Stevanato Group S.p.A. has a 12-month low of €16.56 ($18.40) and a 12-month high of €24.96 ($27.73). The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business's fifty day simple moving average is €21.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is €21.18.

Stevanato Group (NYSE:STVN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported €0.20 ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of €0.20 ($0.22). The company had revenue of €352.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of €346.26 million. Stevanato Group had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 10.47%. Equities research analysts expect that Stevanato Group S.p.A. will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Stevanato Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $0.0613 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Stevanato Group's previous annual dividend of $0.05. Stevanato Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.76%.

Stevanato Group Profile

Stevanato Group S.p.A. engages in the design, production, and distribution of products and processes to provide integrated solutions for bio-pharma and healthcare industries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, South America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions; and Engineering.