First Trust Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL – Get Rating) by 65.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,460,516 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 575,895 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.35% of Newell Brands worth $19,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 2.9% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 56,524,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 47,361,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,491,000 after acquiring an additional 8,407,044 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,445,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,160,000 after acquiring an additional 443,812 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,746,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,946,000 after acquiring an additional 623,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 1.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,797,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,195,000 after acquiring an additional 91,612 shares in the last quarter. 92.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Newell Brands news, CFO Mark J. Erceg purchased 9,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.99 per share, for a total transaction of $95,054.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 153,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,529,868.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Mark J. Erceg acquired 9,515 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.99 per share, for a total transaction of $95,054.85. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 153,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,529,868.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark J. Erceg purchased 28,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.00 per share, for a total transaction of $367,666.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 94,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,234,766. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NWL. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Newell Brands from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on Newell Brands from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Newell Brands from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Newell Brands in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Newell Brands from $14.00 to $13.00 in a report on Monday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.18.

Newell Brands Trading Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ NWL opened at $8.69 on Monday. Newell Brands Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.65 and a 12 month high of $21.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.10.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 28th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Newell Brands had a negative net margin of 1.31% and a positive return on equity of 13.59%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Newell Brands’s revenue was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Newell Brands Inc. will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

Newell Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 30th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Newell Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -317.23%.

Newell Brands Profile

(Get Rating)

Newell Brands, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of consumer and commercial products. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Solutions, Home Appliances, Home Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment includes commercial cleaning and maintenance solutions, closet and garage organization, hygiene systems and material handling solutions, connected home and security, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.