Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC) Stock Price Down 5.7% on Insider Selling

Shares of Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ:EMBC) fell 5.7% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $15.31 and last traded at $15.23. 77,219 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 397,187 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.15.

Specifically, Director Milton Mayo Morris sold 3,100 shares of Embecta stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.38, for a total transaction of $50,778.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Embecta Stock Down 8.0 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.22 and its 200-day moving average is $16.57. The firm has a market cap of $863.23 million, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.20.

Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Embecta Corp. will post 2.87 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. Embecta’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Embecta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Embecta by 175.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Embecta in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Embecta by 796.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Embecta in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Embecta by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.83% of the company’s stock.

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.