LeMaitre Vascular (NASDAQ:LMAT) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $75.99 and last traded at $75.71, with a volume of 62552 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $74.22.

LMAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of LeMaitre Vascular from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of LeMaitre Vascular in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of LeMaitre Vascular from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of LeMaitre Vascular from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO George W. Lemaitre sold 27,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.73, for a total transaction of $1,942,608.07. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,255,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $157,292,541.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other LeMaitre Vascular news, CEO George W. Lemaitre sold 27,859 shares of LeMaitre Vascular stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.73, for a total transaction of $1,942,608.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,255,737 shares in the company, valued at $157,292,541.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence J. Jasinski sold 5,110 shares of LeMaitre Vascular stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.50, for a total value of $344,925.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $358,357.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 114,036 shares of company stock valued at $7,873,749 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LeMaitre Vascular by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 195,983 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $10,677,000 after purchasing an additional 38,958 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in LeMaitre Vascular by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,510,567 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $82,296,000 after buying an additional 33,500 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in LeMaitre Vascular by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,927,971 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $109,432,000 after buying an additional 10,390 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in LeMaitre Vascular by 52.6% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 32,745 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after buying an additional 11,280 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its holdings in LeMaitre Vascular by 152.9% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 13,857 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $755,000 after buying an additional 8,378 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.64% of the company’s stock.

LeMaitre Vascular Stock Up 2.1 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.93 and its 200 day moving average is $58.85. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 49.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.88.

LeMaitre Vascular (NASDAQ:LMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.05. LeMaitre Vascular had a net margin of 16.99% and a return on equity of 11.57%. The firm had revenue of $53.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. LeMaitre Vascular’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

LeMaitre Vascular Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. LeMaitre Vascular’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.38%.

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.