Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK)

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 4,138 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 59% compared to the typical volume of 2,610 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stanley Black & Decker

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 30.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 427,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,061,000 after purchasing an additional 100,894 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Stanley Black & Decker by 3.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 177,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,504,000 after acquiring an additional 5,493 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 13,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Stanley Black & Decker by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 78,734 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,322,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Stanley Black & Decker Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:SWK opened at $73.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $68.30 and its 200 day moving average is $79.97. The company has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Stanley Black & Decker has a 1 year low of $53.91 and a 1 year high of $110.88.

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.07. Stanley Black & Decker had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 1.92%. The company had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Stanley Black & Decker will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Stanley Black & Decker Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. Stanley Black & Decker’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised Stanley Black & Decker from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $90.00 in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $135.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Stanley Black & Decker in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Stanley Black & Decker presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.10.

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.