Traders Purchase Large Volume of Stanley Black & Decker Call Options (NYSE:SWK)

Key Points

• Traders purchased a significant 4,909 call options for Stanley Black & Decker, indicating a 113% increase compared to the average daily volume.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.83, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.8%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging $88.10.

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 4,909 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 113% compared to the average daily volume of 2,304 call options.

Stanley Black & Decker Stock Up 1.8%

Stanley Black & Decker stock traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $69.05. The company had a trading volume of 284,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,326,998. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm's fifty day moving average is $74.06 and its 200-day moving average is $68.84. Stanley Black & Decker has a fifty-two week low of $53.91 and a fifty-two week high of $106.54.

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter. Stanley Black & Decker had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that Stanley Black & Decker will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Stanley Black & Decker Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a boost from Stanley Black & Decker's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Stanley Black & Decker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SWK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Stanley Black & Decker from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $86.00 price target on shares of Stanley Black & Decker and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $65.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Stanley Black & Decker from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a "positive" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Stanley Black & Decker in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $88.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Stanley Black & Decker by 46.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 903,163 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $61,189,000 after buying an additional 286,331 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Stanley Black & Decker by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 19,435 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,494,000 after buying an additional 3,009 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Stanley Black & Decker in the 1st quarter valued at $245,000. Rempart Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Stanley Black & Decker by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 156,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,617,000 after purchasing an additional 28,826 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its holdings in Stanley Black & Decker by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,538,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $104,224,000 after purchasing an additional 45,107 shares during the period. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stanley Black & Decker Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.