LeMaitre Vascular (NASDAQ:LMAT) Shares Down 5.4% Following Weak Earnings

Shares of LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) dropped 5.4% during trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $83.43 and last traded at $85.33. Approximately 57,542 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 161,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.24.

The medical instruments supplier reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $59.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.61 million. LeMaitre Vascular had a net margin of 19.40% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS.

LeMaitre Vascular Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. LeMaitre Vascular’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LMAT. Oppenheimer lowered LeMaitre Vascular from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Lake Street Capital boosted their price objective on shares of LeMaitre Vascular from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on LeMaitre Vascular in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barrington Research cut LeMaitre Vascular from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.14.

Insider Activity at LeMaitre Vascular

In other news, insider Trent G. Kamke sold 2,009 shares of LeMaitre Vascular stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $164,979.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $456,915.68. This trade represents a 26.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LeMaitre Vascular

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LMAT. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LeMaitre Vascular in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in LeMaitre Vascular in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in LeMaitre Vascular by 234.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 418 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of LeMaitre Vascular by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 421 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of LeMaitre Vascular by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.64% of the company’s stock.

LeMaitre Vascular Stock Down 12.8 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $85.58 and a 200 day moving average of $93.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.89.

About LeMaitre Vascular

LeMaitre Vascular, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices and implants used in the field of vascular surgery worldwide. It offers human cadaver tissue cryopreservation services; angioscope, a fiberoptic catheter used for viewing the lumen of a blood vessel; embolectomy catheters to remove blood clots from arteries; thrombectomy catheters for removing thrombi in the venous system; occlusion catheters that temporarily occlude the blood flow; and perfusion catheters to perfuse the blood and other fluids into the vasculature.