Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) by 56.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 144,133 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 51,913 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Newell Brands were worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Newell Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $197,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 168.8% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 43,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 27,278 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Newell Brands by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 12,760,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,091,000 after buying an additional 1,363,913 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Newell Brands by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 3,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestline Management LP purchased a new stake in Newell Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $151,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.50% of the company’s stock.

Newell Brands Trading Down 1.2%

NWL opened at $5.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. Newell Brands Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.22 and a 52 week high of $11.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $5.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.06. Newell Brands had a positive return on equity of 9.76% and a negative net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Newell Brands Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Newell Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Newell Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on NWL. Citigroup decreased their target price on Newell Brands from $7.75 to $4.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Newell Brands from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Newell Brands from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Newell Brands from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Newell Brands from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.42.

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.