Norges Bank Acquires New Shares in Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,492,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,301,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.20% of Henry Schein at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Henry Schein during the third quarter worth about $58,319,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Henry Schein during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,720,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Henry Schein by 1,124.5% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 535,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,071,000 after buying an additional 492,181 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in Henry Schein by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,163,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,486,000 after buying an additional 295,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Henry Schein in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,179,000. 96.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Bradford C. Connett sold 4,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.15, for a total value of $287,161.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,460,251.20. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip A. Laskawy sold 2,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.04, for a total transaction of $184,988.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,762,147.20. This trade represents a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Henry Schein Stock Performance

Shares of HSIC opened at $69.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.42 and a 200-day moving average of $72.67. The company has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.90. Henry Schein, Inc. has a one year low of $63.67 and a one year high of $82.49.

Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Henry Schein had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 2.51%. Henry Schein’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Henry Schein, Inc. will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSIC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Henry Schein from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Henry Schein in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Henry Schein in a report on Friday, February 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho initiated coverage on Henry Schein in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Henry Schein from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.10.

Henry Schein Company Profile

Henry Schein, Inc provides health care products and services to dental practitioners, laboratories, physician practices, and ambulatory surgery centers, government, institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care clinics worldwide. It operates through two segments, Health Care Distribution, and Technology and Value-Added Services.