Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,959,641 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,337 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Newell Brands worth $15,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of Newell Brands by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 27,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 2,490 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Newell Brands by 8.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,820,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,077,000 after acquiring an additional 215,759 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Newell Brands by 19.5% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 93,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 15,273 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Newell Brands by 671.1% during the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 116,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 101,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Newell Brands by 24.7% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 19,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,945 shares in the last quarter. 92.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on NWL shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Newell Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial raised shares of Newell Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Newell Brands from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Newell Brands from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Newell Brands from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Newell Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.00.

Newell Brands Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NWL opened at $10.28 on Friday. Newell Brands Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.39 and a 52-week high of $11.78. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of -17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Newell Brands had a negative net margin of 3.22% and a positive return on equity of 10.22%. The business’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Newell Brands Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Newell Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Newell Brands’s payout ratio is -46.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Tracy L. Platt sold 23,343 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.31, for a total transaction of $240,666.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford R. Turner sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.96, for a total transaction of $179,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 230,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,075.84. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

About Newell Brands

Newell Brands Inc engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr.