First Trust Advisors LP Sells 23,748 Shares of GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS - Free Report) by 29.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,628 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,748 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.15% of GMS worth $4,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in GMS by 374.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,580 shares of the company's stock worth $6,392,000 after purchasing an additional 55,690 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of GMS by 246.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 991 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in GMS by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 110,304 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,357,000 after buying an additional 33,123 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in GMS by 1,710.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 344 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in GMS by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 90,374 shares of the company's stock worth $8,185,000 after acquiring an additional 5,833 shares in the last quarter. 95.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GMS. Barclays dropped their target price on GMS from $80.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of GMS from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group set a $80.00 target price on shares of GMS in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of GMS from $110.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on GMS from $94.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GMS has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $80.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at GMS

In related news, Director Theron I. Gilliam sold 12,474 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.46, for a total transaction of $916,340.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,314,504.22. This represents a 28.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John C. Turner, Jr. purchased 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 66,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,684,960. This trade represents a 5.77 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

GMS Stock Performance

Shares of GMS stock traded down $0.85 during trading on Monday, reaching $74.13. The company had a trading volume of 341,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,472. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $73.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.84. GMS Inc. has a one year low of $65.77 and a one year high of $105.54.

GMS (NYSE:GMS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. GMS had a net margin of 3.92% and a return on equity of 20.67%. Sell-side analysts forecast that GMS Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

About GMS

GMS Inc distributes wallboard, ceilings, steel framing and complementary construction products in the United States and Canada. The company offers ceilings products, including suspended mineral fibers, soft fibers, and metal ceiling systems primarily used in offices, hotels, hospitals, retail facilities, schools, and various other commercial and institutional buildings.