Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Sells 33,480 Shares of Curtiss-Wright Corporation $CW

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group reduced its Curtiss-Wright stake by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 33,480 shares and leaving it with 130,681 shares valued at about $72.0 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains fairly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a target price of $746.67, though recent ratings were mixed between buy and hold.
• Curtiss-Wright reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $3.48 and revenue of $913.69 million, both above estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. cut its stake in Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW - Free Report) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 130,681 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 33,480 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of Curtiss-Wright worth $72,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Curtiss-Wright by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 698 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in Curtiss-Wright by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 697 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 1.6% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 611 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 82.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CW. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $748.00 target price on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on Curtiss-Wright from $728.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $870.00 target price on Curtiss-Wright in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $724.00 price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $746.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John C. Watts sold 220 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $752.91, for a total transaction of $165,640.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,983,029.42. This represents a 5.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Lynn M. Bamford sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.72, for a total transaction of $1,804,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 48,134 shares in the company, valued at $34,739,270.48. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,119 shares of company stock valued at $2,257,998. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Curtiss-Wright Price Performance

NYSE:CW opened at $764.74 on Wednesday. Curtiss-Wright Corporation has a 52 week low of $458.74 and a 52 week high of $779.70. The firm has a market cap of $28.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $729.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $668.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The aerospace company reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.16. Curtiss-Wright had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 20.00%. The business had revenue of $913.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $863.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 earnings per share. Curtiss-Wright's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Curtiss-Wright Corporation will post 15.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Curtiss-Wright Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Curtiss-Wright's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.62%.

About Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Corporation NYSE: CW is a diversified, global engineering company that designs, manufactures and services highly engineered products and integrated systems for the aerospace, defense, and industrial markets. Its offerings span a range of electromechanical, motion control and flow control technologies, including flight control and actuation systems, sensors and avionics components, pumps and valves, power conversion and heat exchangers, and platform integration solutions for marine and ground systems.

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