Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK)

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $107.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

SWK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on Stanley Black & Decker from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Stanley Black & Decker from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Stanley Black & Decker from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Stanley Black & Decker presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $101.75.

Stanley Black & Decker Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of SWK opened at $97.18 on Friday. Stanley Black & Decker has a 12 month low of $76.26 and a 12 month high of $108.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.25. Stanley Black & Decker had a positive return on equity of 6.06% and a negative net margin of 1.87%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.11) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Stanley Black & Decker will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Stanley Black & Decker Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This is a boost from Stanley Black & Decker’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Stanley Black & Decker’s dividend payout ratio is currently -475.36%.

Insider Activity at Stanley Black & Decker

In related news, SVP Janet Link sold 13,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total transaction of $1,404,863.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,320,963.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stanley Black & Decker

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SWK. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Stanley Black & Decker during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Stanley Black & Decker during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Stanley Black & Decker in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of Stanley Black & Decker by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 496 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Stanley Black & Decker Company Profile

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc provides hand tools, power tools, outdoor products, and related accessories in the United States, Canada, Other Americas, Europe, and Asia. Its Tools & Outdoor segment offers professional grade corded and cordless electric power tools and equipment, including drills, impact wrenches and drivers, grinders, saws, routers, and sanders; pneumatic tools and fasteners, such as nail guns, nails, staplers and staples, and concrete and masonry anchors; corded and cordless electric power tools; hand-held vacuums, paint tools, and cleaning appliances; leveling and layout tools, planes, hammers, demolition tools, clamps, vises, knives, saws, chisels, and industrial and automotive tools; drill, screwdriver, router bits, abrasives, saw blades, and threading products; tool boxes, sawhorses, medical cabinets, and engineered storage solutions; and electric and gas-powered lawn and garden products.