Raymond James & Associates Sells 11,700 Shares of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its stake in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,881 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,700 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.06% of Smith & Wesson Brands worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 6.9% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 14,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 2.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,514,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,368,000 after purchasing an additional 92,985 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 1.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 101,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 6.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 971,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,547,000 after purchasing an additional 57,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Smith & Wesson Brands by 6.5% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,875,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,215,000 after purchasing an additional 114,584 shares in the last quarter. 59.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Smith & Wesson Brands Price Performance

Shares of SWBI opened at $17.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $791.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12 and a beta of 1.17. Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.38 and a twelve month high of $18.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.56.

Smith & Wesson Brands (NASDAQ:SWBI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $137.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $133.56 million. Smith & Wesson Brands had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 9.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smith & Wesson Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Smith & Wesson Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Smith & Wesson Brands news, Director Robert L. Scott sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.90, for a total value of $35,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 71,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,281,085.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Deana L. Mcpherson sold 13,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.49, for a total transaction of $228,559.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,335,711.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert L. Scott sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.90, for a total transaction of $35,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 71,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,281,085.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,068 shares of company stock valued at $291,279. Insiders own 0.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Smith & Wesson Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th.

About Smith & Wesson Brands

Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells firearms worldwide. The company offers handguns, including revolvers and pistols; long guns, such as modern sporting rifles, bolt action rifles; handcuffs; suppressors; and other firearm-related products under the Smith & Wesson, M&P, and Gemtech brands.