OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Grows Stake in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO) by 34.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 52,460 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,460 shares during the period. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Bausch + Lomb were worth $947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Bausch + Lomb by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Bausch + Lomb in the fourth quarter worth approximately $181,000. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLCO. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Bausch + Lomb from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. HC Wainwright lowered their price target on Bausch + Lomb from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bausch + Lomb has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Bausch + Lomb Price Performance

NYSE BLCO opened at $11.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.03, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.58. Bausch + Lomb Co. has a 1-year low of $10.45 and a 1-year high of $21.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $13.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.45.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.10). Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.62% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.74 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.