Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 114,091 Shares of Pinterest, Inc. (NYSE:PINS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Pinterest, Inc. (NYSE:PINS) by 61.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 299,460 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 114,091 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Pinterest were worth $10,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Pinterest by 3,402.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 80,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,973,000 after purchasing an additional 77,974 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Pinterest by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 174,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,477,000 after purchasing an additional 62,117 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Pinterest by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,570,000 after purchasing an additional 34,876 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Pinterest by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 447,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,598,000 after purchasing an additional 51,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contrarius Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Pinterest by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Contrarius Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,722,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,798,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,854 shares in the last quarter. 88.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pinterest Stock Performance

NYSE PINS traded down $0.33 on Friday, reaching $37.55. 10,960,656 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,675,600. The firm has a market cap of $25.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 178.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.53. Pinterest, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.59 and a fifty-two week high of $45.19.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.05. Pinterest had a net margin of 4.64% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The business had revenue of $739.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.96 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pinterest, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wanjiku Juanita Walcott sold 11,627 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.42, for a total value of $481,590.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 307,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,726,543.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Wanjiku Juanita Walcott sold 11,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.42, for a total value of $481,590.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 307,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,726,543.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gokul Rajaram sold 1,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.25, for a total transaction of $81,711.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,255,332. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,191,304 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PINS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Pinterest from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Pinterest in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Pinterest from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Pinterest from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Pinterest from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.60.

Pinterest Company Profile

Pinterest, Inc operates as a visual search and discovery platform in the United States and internationally. Its platform allows people to find ideas, such as recipes, home and style inspiration, and others; and to search, save, and shop the ideas. The company was formerly known as Cold Brew Labs Inc and changed its name to Pinterest, Inc in April 2012.