Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires 8,035 Shares of Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE - Free Report) by 236.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,438 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 8,035 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Five Below were worth $1,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Five Below by 1,042.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 391,004 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $34,545,000 after acquiring an additional 356,776 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Five Below by 869.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 197,664 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $20,747,000 after purchasing an additional 177,269 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in Five Below by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 618,372 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $64,904,000 after buying an additional 175,131 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Five Below during the 4th quarter valued at $17,755,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Five Below in the 4th quarter worth $8,489,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ronald James Masciantonio sold 584 shares of Five Below stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.04, for a total value of $45,575.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $987,830.32. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Eric M. Specter sold 5,494 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.76, for a total value of $498,635.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,197,552.92. The trade was a 8.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on FIVE shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Five Below in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Five Below from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Five Below from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Five Below from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Five Below from $93.00 to $90.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.95.

Five Below Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FIVE traded down $1.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $60.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,728,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,925,390. Five Below, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.38 and a 52 week high of $162.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.01.

Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.10. Five Below had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 7.02%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Five Below, Inc. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Five Below

Five Below, Inc operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. The company offers range of accessories, which includes novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, athletic tops and bottoms, and t-shirts, as well as nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance, and branded cosmetics; and personalized living space products, such as lamps, posters, frames, fleece blankets, plush items, pillows, candles, incense, lighting, novelty décor, accent furniture, and related items, as well as provides storage options.