Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC) Trading 4.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ:EMBC) shot up 4.3% on Monday . The company traded as high as $13.16 and last traded at $13.30. 158,842 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 407,890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research upgraded Embecta from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Embecta from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd.

Embecta Stock Down 3.0 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.51. The stock has a market cap of $807.83 million, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.27.

Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.20. Embecta had a net margin of 5.25% and a negative return on equity of 19.22%. On average, research analysts forecast that Embecta Corp. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Embecta Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Embecta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.00%.

Insider Transactions at Embecta

In other news, Director Milton Mayo Morris sold 3,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.38, for a total value of $50,778.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,133 shares in the company, valued at $591,858.54. This trade represents a 7.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Embecta

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Embecta by 175.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Embecta by 796.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Embecta in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Embecta in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Embecta during the fourth quarter worth $77,000. 93.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Embecta Company Profile

Embecta Corp., a medical device company, focuses on the provision of various solutions to enhance the health and wellbeing of people living with diabetes. Its products include pen needles, syringes, and safety injection devices, as well as digital applications to assist people with managing patient's diabetes.