Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) Stock

Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $117.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the medical equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Zimmer Biomet from $112.00 to $107.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Zimmer Biomet from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Zimmer Biomet from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Zimmer Biomet from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Zimmer Biomet in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zimmer Biomet currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.58.

Zimmer Biomet Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of ZBH traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $108.51. The company had a trading volume of 64,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,482,753. Zimmer Biomet has a 52-week low of $101.47 and a 52-week high of $133.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $107.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Zimmer Biomet had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zimmer Biomet will post 7.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zimmer Biomet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Zimmer Biomet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zimmer Biomet

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Zimmer Biomet by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,642,801 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $1,404,638,000 after buying an additional 1,215,935 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zimmer Biomet by 12.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,463,845 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $701,521,000 after purchasing an additional 722,041 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Zimmer Biomet by 26.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,314,939 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $437,413,000 after purchasing an additional 691,191 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in Zimmer Biomet by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,310,265 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $142,203,000 after purchasing an additional 484,816 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Zimmer Biomet by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,736,761 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $391,239,000 after buying an additional 411,163 shares during the last quarter. 88.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Zimmer Biomet

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a medical technology company worldwide. The company designs, manufactures, and markets orthopedic reconstructive products, such as knee and hip products; S.E.T. products, including sports medicine, biologics, foot and ankle, extremities, and trauma products; craniomaxillofacial and thoracic products comprising face and skull reconstruction products, as well as products that fixate and stabilize the bones of the chest to facilitate healing or reconstruction after open heart surgery, trauma, or for deformities of the chest.