Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Sells 57,274 Shares of Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC trimmed its holdings in Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 333,119 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 57,274 shares during the quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Caesarstone were worth $1,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CSTE. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. raised its position in Caesarstone by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 3,019,248 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $13,768,000 after purchasing an additional 48,200 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Caesarstone by 1,206.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,704 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 43,129 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caesarstone in the third quarter worth about $164,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Caesarstone by 189.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 40,797 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 26,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Caesarstone by 87.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,445 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 20,271 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.70% of the company’s stock.

Caesarstone Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of CSTE opened at $3.27 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.92 million, a P/E ratio of -1.63 and a beta of 0.10. Caesarstone Ltd. has a twelve month low of $3.24 and a twelve month high of $6.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.36.

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The construction company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.12). Caesarstone had a negative return on equity of 9.61% and a negative net margin of 14.56%. The firm had revenue of $97.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.28) earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Caesarstone in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

About Caesarstone

Caesarstone Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets engineered stone and other materials under the Caesarstone brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel. The company’s engineered stone slabs are primarily used as indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops in the renovation and remodeling, and residential construction sectors.