GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Position in Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPB)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SPB - Free Report) by 4,757.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,884 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,557 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Spectrum Brands worth $1,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spectrum Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Spectrum Brands by 101.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 970 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Spectrum Brands by 89.6% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the company's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spectrum Brands by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Spectrum Brands

In other Spectrum Brands news, CEO David M. Maura sold 66,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $4,324,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 723,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,417,966.71. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on SPB shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price target on shares of Spectrum Brands from $106.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Spectrum Brands from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.17.

Spectrum Brands Stock Performance

Shares of SPB stock traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.07. 1,152,494 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 427,166. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.34. Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.50 and a 52 week high of $96.62. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $60.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.17.

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.67). The firm had revenue of $675.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.00 million. Spectrum Brands had a return on equity of 5.20% and a net margin of 2.02%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Spectrum Brands Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Spectrum Brands's dividend payout ratio is 89.95%.

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.