Howard Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK)

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. has made a new investment of $370,000 in Stanley Black & Decker by acquiring 4,812 shares during the first quarter, according to its recent 13F filing.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Stanley Black & Decker, with a reported 87.77% of the stock owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Stanley Black & Decker recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous $0.82, and a dividend yield of 5.0%.

Howard Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,812 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 1,138.5% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 830.4% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 428 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker during the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SWK. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $93.00 to $60.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stanley Black & Decker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $65.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stanley Black & Decker presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.10.

Stanley Black & Decker Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:SWK traded up $0.73 on Monday, reaching $67.71. 440,311 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,453,317. The company has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.91 and a 12 month high of $110.88. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $68.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.92.

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.70. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Stanley Black & Decker had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stanley Black & Decker Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. This is a positive change from Stanley Black & Decker's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Stanley Black & Decker's payout ratio is currently 104.13%.

About Stanley Black & Decker

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc engages in the provision of power and hand tools, and related accessories, products, services and equipment for oil and gas, infrastructure applications, commercial electronic security and monitoring systems, healthcare solutions, and mechanical access solutions. It operates through the Tools and Outdoor and Industrial segments.