Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 8,145,192 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 153% from the previous session’s volume of 3,214,677 shares.The stock last traded at $18.42 and had previously closed at $18.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mattel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Mattel from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Mattel from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Mattel from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.75.

Mattel Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Mattel had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 25.39%. Mattel’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mattel, Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Mattel

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MAT. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Mattel by 43.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 4,359 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mattel in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Mattel by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,685,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,487,000 after purchasing an additional 180,855 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Mattel by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 187,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,708,000 after purchasing an additional 14,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mattel by 292.6% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 83,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 62,204 shares during the period. 97.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mattel Company Profile

Mattel, Inc, a toy and family entertainment company, designs, manufactures, and markets toys and consumer products in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through North America, International, and American Girl segments. It offers dolls and accessories, as well as books, content, gaming, and lifestyle products for children under the Barbie, American Girl, Disney Princess and Disney Frozen, Monster High, and Polly Pocket brands; die-cast vehicles, tracks, playsets, and accessories for kids, adults, and collectors under the Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels Monster Trucks, Hot Wheels Mario Kart, Matchbox, and Cars brand names; and infant, toddler, and preschool products comprising content, toys, live events, and other consumer products under the Fisher-Price, Little People and Imaginext, and Thomas & Friends, and Power wheels brands.