Comerica Bank Lowers Stake in Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB)

Comerica Bank lessened its stake in Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB - Free Report) by 93.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 922 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,683 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Spectrum Brands were worth $78,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Spectrum Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Spectrum Brands by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,233 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Spectrum Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Spectrum Brands by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 3,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter.

Spectrum Brands Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of SPB traded down $0.47 on Friday, hitting $58.05. 622,606 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 413,972. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $56.50 and a one year high of $96.62. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.36.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.67). The firm had revenue of $675.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $701.00 million. Spectrum Brands had a return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 4.01%. The business's revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spectrum Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Spectrum Brands's payout ratio is 89.95%.

Insider Transactions at Spectrum Brands

In other news, CEO David M. Maura sold 5,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.77, for a total transaction of $330,328.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 718,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,814,089.79. This represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price target on shares of Spectrum Brands from $106.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Spectrum Brands from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Spectrum Brands from $114.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Spectrum Brands from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Spectrum Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $94.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spectrum Brands has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.17.

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.