Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Takes $87.86 Million Position in James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in James Hardie Industries PLC. (NYSE:JHX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,729,137 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $87,858,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.87% of James Hardie Industries as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 972 shares of the construction company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in James Hardie Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,260 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 98.0% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,049 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 2,499 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,220 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. 7.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

James Hardie Industries Price Performance

Shares of JHX traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,903,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,795,278. James Hardie Industries PLC. has a 52 week low of $19.72 and a 52 week high of $43.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.65. The company has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.75.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.01). James Hardie Industries had a return on equity of 31.52% and a net margin of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $971.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries PLC. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised James Hardie Industries from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Macquarie downgraded James Hardie Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. William Blair initiated coverage on James Hardie Industries in a research note on Friday, June 27th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered James Hardie Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $55.00 target price on James Hardie Industries in a report on Monday, March 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.34.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc manufactures and sells fiber cement, fiber gypsum, and cement bonded building products for interior and exterior building construction applications primarily in the United States, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and the Philippines. The company operates through North America Fiber Cement, Asia Pacific Fiber Cement, and Europe Building Products segments.