Earnest Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS)

Earnest Partners LLC cut its stake in Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 794,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17,115 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Steelcase were worth $10,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Steelcase by 370.7% in the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 337,839 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,419,000 after buying an additional 266,070 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Steelcase by 177.4% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 234,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,063,000 after purchasing an additional 149,776 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Steelcase by 273.3% during the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 74,266 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 54,369 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Steelcase by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,153,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,811,000 after purchasing an additional 387,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Steelcase during the first quarter worth $2,427,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Benchmark raised their price target on Steelcase from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st.

Insider Transactions at Steelcase

In related news, CFO David C. Sylvester sold 73,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $1,012,866.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 551,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,634,033.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Steelcase news, SVP Allan W. Smith, Jr. sold 70,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $974,944.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 184,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,556,843.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David C. Sylvester sold 73,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $1,012,866.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 551,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,634,033.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,877 shares of company stock worth $2,228,248. Corporate insiders own 12.96% of the company’s stock.

Steelcase Stock Performance

Shares of SCS opened at $13.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.33. Steelcase Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.29 and a 52-week high of $14.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $13.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.04.

Steelcase (NYSE:SCS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 18th. The business services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $855.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $864.17 million. Steelcase had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.41%. The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that Steelcase Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steelcase Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Steelcase’s payout ratio is 52.63%.

Steelcase Profile

Steelcase Inc provides a portfolio of furniture and architectural products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas and International segments. The company's furniture portfolio includes furniture systems, seating, storage, fixed and height-adjustable desks, benches, and tables, as well as complementary products, such as work accessories, lighting, mobile power, and screens.