Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) Stake Boosted by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its stake in Curtiss-Wright Corporation by 47.5%, acquiring an additional 3,800 shares, bringing its total holdings to 11,800 shares valued at approximately $3,744,000.
• Analysts have recently raised target prices for Curtiss-Wright, with Morgan Stanley setting a new target of $550.00 and several others issuing "buy" ratings, contributing to an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Curtiss-Wright declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.21 to $0.24 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.2%, with a low payout ratio of 8.54%.

ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW - Free Report) by 47.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,800 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Curtiss-Wright were worth $3,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Curtiss-Wright by 44,878.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 259,527 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $82,340,000 after acquiring an additional 258,950 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the first quarter valued at $55,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Curtiss-Wright by 23.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 552,893 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $175,417,000 after purchasing an additional 104,393 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Curtiss-Wright during the fourth quarter worth about $34,368,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Curtiss-Wright in the 4th quarter worth about $31,497,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bruce D. Hoechner sold 1,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $851,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,026,304. This represents a 29.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John C. Watts sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.36, for a total transaction of $202,212.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 4,959 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,228,376.24. This represents a 8.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CW. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $365.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Curtiss-Wright from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Curtiss-Wright from $525.00 to $568.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Curtiss-Wright from $432.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Curtiss-Wright from $405.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Curtiss-Wright currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $467.14.

Curtiss-Wright Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CW traded down $3.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $507.87. 485,211 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 295,861. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $475.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $388.76. Curtiss-Wright Corporation has a 52-week low of $266.78 and a 52-week high of $517.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.18, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.18.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.13 by $0.10. Curtiss-Wright had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 18.02%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Curtiss-Wright Corporation will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

Curtiss-Wright Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This is an increase from Curtiss-Wright's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Curtiss-Wright's dividend payout ratio is 8.54%.

Curtiss-Wright Profile

Curtiss-Wright Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered products, solutions, and services mainly to aerospace and defense, commercial power, process, and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Industrial, Defense Electronics, and Naval & Power.