Man Group plc Acquires 197,263 Shares of Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB)

Man Group plc lifted its holdings in Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB - Free Report) by 160.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 320,178 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 197,263 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned about 1.17% of Spectrum Brands worth $27,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SPB. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Spectrum Brands by 89.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Humankind Investments LLC raised its stake in Spectrum Brands by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 5,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Spectrum Brands by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 20,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,748,000 after acquiring an additional 8,776 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Spectrum Brands by 165.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 94,403 shares of the company's stock worth $7,976,000 after purchasing an additional 58,852 shares during the period. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Spectrum Brands by 290.4% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 14,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 11,115 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SPB. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Spectrum Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $94.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price objective on shares of Spectrum Brands from $106.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Spectrum Brands from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Spectrum Brands from $114.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Spectrum Brands from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.17.

Spectrum Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPB traded down $1.84 on Wednesday, reaching $62.16. 105,986 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 417,055. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.50 and a twelve month high of $96.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.88 and a 200-day moving average of $77.94.

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

Spectrum Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Spectrum Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.95%.

Insider Activity at Spectrum Brands

In other news, CEO David M. Maura sold 66,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total value of $4,324,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 723,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,417,966.71. This represents a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.