Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 6,905 Shares of Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its position in Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 185,793 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,905 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Newell Brands were worth $1,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 18,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 3,248 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Newell Brands by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,026,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,921 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC bought a new position in Newell Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $868,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Newell Brands by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 106,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in Newell Brands by 230.4% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 119,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 83,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.50% of the company’s stock.

Newell Brands Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NWL opened at $6.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.04 and its 200 day moving average is $8.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.14. Newell Brands Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.39 and a fifty-two week high of $11.78.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Newell Brands had a negative net margin of 2.85% and a positive return on equity of 9.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Newell Brands Inc. will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Newell Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Newell Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently -53.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Tracy L. Platt sold 23,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.31, for a total transaction of $240,666.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NWL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Newell Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Newell Brands from $10.50 to $7.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Newell Brands from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Newell Brands from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Newell Brands from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.81.

Newell Brands Profile

Newell Brands Inc engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr.