The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 698 Shares of Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 698 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Five Below were worth $4,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Five Below during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Five Below by 149.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Five Below during the fourth quarter worth approximately $249,000. Oak Thistle LLC raised its stake in Five Below by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 15,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Five Below by 691.8% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 25,297 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,655,000 after buying an additional 22,102 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FIVE. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Five Below from $117.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Five Below from $88.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Five Below in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Five Below from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Five Below from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.25.

Five Below Stock Performance

Shares of FIVE opened at $85.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.87. Five Below, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.38 and a 52 week high of $145.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.99 and a 200-day moving average of $87.58.

Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.10. Five Below had a return on equity of 18.03% and a net margin of 7.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Five Below, Inc. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ronald James Masciantonio sold 584 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.04, for a total value of $45,575.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,830.32. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

About Five Below

Five Below, Inc operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. The company offers range of accessories, which includes novelty socks, sunglasses, jewelry, scarves, gloves, hair accessories, athletic tops and bottoms, and t-shirts, as well as nail polish, lip gloss, fragrance, and branded cosmetics; and personalized living space products, such as lamps, posters, frames, fleece blankets, plush items, pillows, candles, incense, lighting, novelty décor, accent furniture, and related items, as well as provides storage options.