Earnest Partners LLC Sells 15,269 Shares of Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS)

Earnest Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 811,139 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,269 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 0.71% of Steelcase worth $10,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Steelcase in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,215,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Steelcase by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,765,893 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,035,000 after acquiring an additional 452,494 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Steelcase by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,752,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $64,249,000 after acquiring an additional 352,078 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 266,070 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Steelcase in the 1st quarter valued at $2,427,000. 92.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David C. Sylvester sold 73,184 shares of Steelcase 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 551,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,634,033.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Allan W. Smith, Jr. sold 70,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,556,843.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David C. Sylvester sold 73,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $1,012,866.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 551,592 shares in the company, valued at $7,634,033.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 174,187 shares of company stock worth $2,410,861 over the last three months. 12.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Steelcase Stock Performance

SCS traded up $0.17 on Monday, reaching $14.20. 550,647 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 748,690. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $13.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.88. Steelcase Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.34 and a fifty-two week high of $14.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.34.

Steelcase (NYSE:SCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The business services provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.06. Steelcase had a return on equity of 13.66% and a net margin of 2.89%. The business had revenue of $727.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Steelcase Inc. will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Steelcase Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 3rd. Steelcase’s payout ratio is currently 52.63%.

Steelcase Company 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.