Marshall Wace LLP Has $1.70 Million Holdings in Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB)

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,071 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Spectrum Brands were worth $1,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spectrum Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Spectrum Brands by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Spectrum Brands by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spectrum Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $237,000. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spectrum Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $306,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SPB. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Spectrum Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $94.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Spectrum Brands from $114.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Spectrum Brands from $106.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Spectrum Brands from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.43.

Spectrum Brands Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SPB opened at $62.88 on Tuesday. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.66 and a 52 week high of $96.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.82.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.11. Spectrum Brands had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 6.44%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Spectrum Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Spectrum Brands’s payout ratio is presently 46.19%.

About Spectrum Brands

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc operates as a branded consumer products and home essentials company in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions. It operates through three segments: Home and Personal Care; Global Pet Care; and Home and Garden. The Home and Personal Care segment provides home appliances under the Black & Decker, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, PowerXL, Emeril Legasse, Copper Chef, Toastmaster, Juiceman, Farberware, and Breadman brands; and personal care products under the Remington brand.