Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its stake in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Bausch + Lomb were worth $884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,938,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,066,000 after buying an additional 343,772 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Bausch + Lomb during the 4th quarter worth $1,706,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 48,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 20,803 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 192,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,281,000 after purchasing an additional 47,914 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 114,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 11,321 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BLCO shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore decreased their price target on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bausch + Lomb currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.95.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

NYSE:BLCO traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.81. 416,870 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 726,363. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.30. Bausch + Lomb Co. has a 1 year low of $13.16 and a 1 year high of $20.30. The company has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of -16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.47.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.02). Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 7.81% and a positive return on equity of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Bausch + Lomb Company Profile

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.