5 Mid-Cap Dividend Stocks to Buy Now

3. Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO)

Dividend Yield as of March 30: 3.27%

Market Capitalization as of March 30: $3.118 billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 25

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) is a Minnesota-based company that distributes dental and animal health products in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. As of March 30, the stock delivers a dividend yield of 3.27%. 

Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) on March 15 declared a $0.26 per share quarterly dividend. The dividend will be paid on May 6, to shareholders of the company at the close of business on April 22. 

On March 2, Piper Sandler analyst Jason Bednar observed that Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) reported Q4 results that implied profitability improvements despite revenue missing Street estimates given omicron headwinds. The analyst noted that Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO)’s EPS guidance was raised for the third straight quarter. He has an Overweight rating and a $41 price target on Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) shares.

According to the Q4 database of Insider Monkey, 25 hedge funds were long Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO), up from 21 funds in the previous quarter. Millennium Management held the largest stake in the company, with more than 1 million shares worth $30.4 million. 

Here is what Heartland Advisors has to say about Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO) in its Q2 2021 investor letter:

“Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO) is a leading distributor of dental and animal health products. Sales have been on the rise and the company reported a record $6.1 billion in revenue for the year ending in April. Shares of the business are up double digits through the first half of the year, and the holding has been a solid contributor to performance.

Management at Patterson has done an impressive job of expanding operating margins and making strategic acquisitions that have fit with the business’ core competencies since coming aboard in 2017. However, shares set back late in the quarter, after the company reported better than expected earnings but issued guidance that was more conservative than Wall Street expectations. Due to the ongoing unwinding of pent-up demand in dental services and the strength of Patterson’s animal health line, we believe recent earnings guidance will prove to be overly cautious.

We view recent softness in shares of Patterson as an overreaction and remain constructive on this industry leader that is priced at just .5X sales.”