Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 3,459 Shares of GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) by 41.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,730 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,459 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in GMS were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of GMS by 1,710.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 344 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of GMS in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in GMS by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 685 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in GMS by 246.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 991 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in GMS in the 4th quarter valued at $193,000. 95.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Theron I. Gilliam sold 12,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.46, for a total transaction of $916,340.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,314,504.22. This represents a 28.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John C. Turner, Jr. acquired 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $255,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 66,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,684,960. This trade represents a 5.77 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GMS has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group set a $80.00 target price on shares of GMS in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on GMS from $110.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on GMS from $97.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on GMS from $94.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on GMS from $80.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.50.

GMS Stock Performance

GMS stock opened at $75.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. GMS Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.77 and a 12-month high of $105.54.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.47). GMS had a return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 3.92%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that GMS Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About GMS

GMS Inc distributes wallboard, ceilings, steel framing and complementary construction products in the United States and Canada. The company offers ceilings products, including suspended mineral fibers, soft fibers, and metal ceiling systems primarily used in offices, hotels, hospitals, retail facilities, schools, and various other commercial and institutional buildings.