River Road Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO)

River Road Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Bausch + Lomb Co. (NYSE:BLCO - Free Report) by 25.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,506,986 shares of the company's stock after selling 513,428 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 0.43% of Bausch + Lomb worth $27,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bausch + Lomb by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,450 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 14.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 24,661 shares of the company's stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 3,164 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Bausch + Lomb during the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Bausch + Lomb by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,085 shares of the company's stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 11,330 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company's stock.

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Bausch + Lomb Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of BLCO stock traded up $0.15 on Friday, hitting $15.34. The stock had a trading volume of 278,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,216. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.49. Bausch + Lomb Co. has a 1 year low of $13.16 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 company's 50 day moving average price is $16.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.13.

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. Bausch + Lomb had a negative net margin of 6.62% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Bausch + Lomb Co. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Bausch + Lomb from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Bausch + Lomb in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup cut Bausch + Lomb from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Bausch + Lomb from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.00.

About Bausch + Lomb

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.