Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) Shares Purchased by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Howmet Aerospace Inc. by 18.2%, owning 10,421 shares valued at $1,352,000 at the end of the quarter.
• Insider transactions saw CEO John C. Plant selling 800,000 shares for over $125 million, decreasing his holdings by 77.18%.
• Howmet Aerospace recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12, reflecting a positive change from the previous $0.10 dividend.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,421 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,601 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Howmet Aerospace were worth $1,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brookwood Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Howmet Aerospace during the 1st quarter worth about $340,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its position in Howmet Aerospace by 57.0% during the 1st quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 3,069 shares of the company's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates grew its position in Howmet Aerospace by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 20,541 shares of the company's stock worth $2,665,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its position in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 402.8% in the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 106,044 shares of the company's stock worth $13,757,000 after buying an additional 84,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 4,062 shares of the company's stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Howmet Aerospace Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:HWM traded up $2.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $182.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,252,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,088,486. Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.64 and a 12-month high of $193.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.24, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.48. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $178.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.10.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Howmet Aerospace had a return on equity of 28.17% and a net margin of 18.09%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Howmet Aerospace Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Howmet Aerospace Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a positive change from Howmet Aerospace's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Howmet Aerospace's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.70%.

Insider Activity at Howmet Aerospace

In other Howmet Aerospace news, EVP Neil Edward Marchuk sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total value of $4,755,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 131,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,903,607.27. The trade was a 18.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John C. Plant sold 800,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.96, for a total value of $125,568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 236,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,127,946.24. This trade represents a 77.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Vertical Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Howmet Aerospace in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Howmet Aerospace from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Northcoast Research raised Howmet Aerospace from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Benchmark increased their target price on Howmet Aerospace from $85.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, BTIG Research set a $205.00 price objective on Howmet Aerospace and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $172.13.

About Howmet Aerospace

Howmet Aerospace Inc provides advanced engineered solutions for the aerospace and transportation industries in the United States, Japan, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Italy, Canada, Poland, China, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Engine Products, Fastening Systems, Engineered Structures, and Forged Wheels.