First Trust Advisors LP Trims Position in La-Z-Boy Incorporated $LZB

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB) by 40.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 581,626 shares of the company’s stock after selling 399,480 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in La-Z-Boy were worth $18,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of La-Z-Boy by 4,785.7% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in La-Z-Boy by 290.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 901 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in La-Z-Boy by 99.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in La-Z-Boy by 159.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new stake in La-Z-Boy during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LZB shares. Wall Street Zen raised La-Z-Boy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded La-Z-Boy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.00.

La-Z-Boy Stock Performance

LZB stock opened at $40.82 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.65. La-Z-Boy Incorporated has a one year low of $29.03 and a one year high of $44.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.25.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 16th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $570.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.23 million. La-Z-Boy had a net margin of 4.80% and a return on equity of 11.97%. La-Z-Boy’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that La-Z-Boy Incorporated will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Melinda D. Whittington sold 7,364 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $294,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 415,061 shares in the company, valued at $16,602,440. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Terrence James Linz sold 2,500 shares of La-Z-Boy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.23, for a total value of $100,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 64,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,128.09. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,299 shares of company stock worth $2,677,491. 3.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About La-Z-Boy

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB) is a leading U.S. manufacturer and marketer of residential furniture, best known for its upholstered recliners, sofas, stationary chairs and sleeper sofas. The company offers a broad range of products in both fabric and leather, complemented by occasional tables, desks, lamps and other home furnishings through its branded retail network.

Founded in 1927 by cousins Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker in Monroe, Michigan, La-Z-Boy pioneered the modern reclining chair.