Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Holdings in Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK - Free Report) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 534,110 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 97,942 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.35% of Stanley Black & Decker worth $42,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SWK. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Stanley Black & Decker during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Stanley Black & Decker by 107.2% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 458 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Stanley Black & Decker during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Stanley Black & Decker by 61.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 521 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Stanley Black & Decker during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on SWK. Citigroup cut their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $135.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $121.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $94.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Mizuho raised Stanley Black & Decker from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Stanley Black & Decker in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.20.

Stanley Black & Decker Price Performance

SWK stock traded down $6.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $57.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,255,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,705,922. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.91 and a 1 year high of $110.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.14. The company's fifty day moving average is $80.58 and its 200-day moving average is $87.63.

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The industrial products company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.21. Stanley Black & Decker had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 7.50%. On average, research analysts expect that Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stanley Black & Decker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.67%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Stanley Black & Decker's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.07%.

About Stanley Black & Decker

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.