Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 101,000 Shares of Bausch + Lomb Corporation $BLCO

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb Corporation (NYSE:BLCO) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 338,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 101,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Bausch + Lomb were worth $5,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLCO. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 428.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 299,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,345,000 after purchasing an additional 242,993 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 312,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 729.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brent L. Saunders bought 14,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.14 per share, for a total transaction of $251,958.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 966,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,567,095.50. This represents a 1.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP A Robert D. Bailey bought 14,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.15 per share, with a total value of $250,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 231,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,976,913.50. This trade represents a 6.72% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 33,300 shares of company stock worth $570,868. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLCO. Barclays boosted their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $16.00 price objective on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $16.00 price objective on Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.08.

Bausch + Lomb Stock Performance

Shares of Bausch + Lomb stock opened at $16.19 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.59. The company has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of -26.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Bausch + Lomb Corporation has a 52 week low of $10.99 and a 52 week high of $18.92.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.07) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Bausch + Lomb Corporation will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bausch + Lomb 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.