Jupiter Topco LLC Takes $674,000 Position in La-Z-Boy Incorporated $LZB

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 16,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LZB. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of La-Z-Boy during the 2nd quarter valued at $265,535,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of La-Z-Boy by 208.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,492,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,237,000 after buying an additional 1,009,428 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy in the second quarter worth $19,511,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of La-Z-Boy in the second quarter worth $17,158,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in La-Z-Boy by 100.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 627,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,392,000 after buying an additional 313,932 shares during the period. 99.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at La-Z-Boy

In other news, CAO Jennifer Lynn Mccurry sold 3,715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.05, for a total transaction of $152,500.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 16,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $688,121.15. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael Leggett sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.66, for a total value of $374,940.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 47,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,974.66. This represents a 15.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 66,299 shares of company stock worth $2,677,491. Company insiders own 3.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LZB. Weiss Ratings lowered La-Z-Boy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Zacks Research downgraded La-Z-Boy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on La-Z-Boy from $46.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of La-Z-Boy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

La-Z-Boy Stock Performance

NYSE LZB opened at $32.72 on Monday. La-Z-Boy Incorporated has a 52-week low of $29.03 and a 52-week high of $44.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.22 and a 200-day moving average of $36.42.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 18th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $475.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $501.44 million. La-Z-Boy had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 3.86%.The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that La-Z-Boy Incorporated will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

La-Z-Boy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.242 dividend. This represents a $0.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. La-Z-Boy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.24%.

About La-Z-Boy

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB) is a leading U.S. manufacturer and marketer of residential furniture, best known for its upholstered recliners, sofas, stationary chairs and sleeper sofas. The company offers a broad range of products in both fabric and leather, complemented by occasional tables, desks, lamps and other home furnishings through its branded retail network.

Founded in 1927 by cousins Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker in Monroe, Michigan, La-Z-Boy pioneered the modern reclining chair.