Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC) Stock Price Down 5.7% – Here’s What Happened

Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ:EMBC)’s share price was down 5.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $15.31 and last traded at $15.23. Approximately 77,219 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 397,187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on EMBC shares. BTIG Research upgraded Embecta from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Embecta from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd.

Embecta Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.38 and a 200-day moving average of $16.57. The firm has a market cap of $878.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.20.

Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.20. Embecta had a negative return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 5.25%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Embecta Corp. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Embecta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Embecta’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Embecta

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Embecta by 175.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Embecta in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Embecta by 796.3% during the 4th 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. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Embecta during the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Embecta by 11.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. 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.