Jackson Square Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM)

Key Points

• Jackson Square Partners LLC reduced its stake in Howmet Aerospace by 36.1%, selling 88,598 shares and now owning 156,495 shares worth approximately $20.3 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Howmet Aerospace, with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raising its holdings by 233.5%.
• The CEO of Howmet Aerospace, John C. Plant, sold 800,000 shares for $125.57 million, significantly reducing his ownership by 77.18%.

Jackson Square Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM - Free Report) by 36.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 156,495 shares of the company's stock after selling 88,598 shares during the period. Howmet Aerospace makes up 2.7% of Jackson Square Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Jackson Square Partners LLC's holdings in Howmet Aerospace were worth $20,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,813,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,202,814,000 after acquiring an additional 695,953 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,213,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,445,210,000 after purchasing an additional 80,972 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,947,354 shares of the company's stock worth $1,197,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,130 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,855,273 shares of the company's stock worth $531,021,000 after purchasing an additional 570,567 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,676,908 shares of the company's stock worth $402,143,000 after purchasing an additional 349,384 shares during the period. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John C. Plant sold 800,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 236,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,127,946.24. This trade represents a 77.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Neil Edward Marchuk sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 131,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,903,607.27. This trade represents a 18.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Howmet Aerospace Price Performance

HWM traded down $0.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $180.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,588,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,884,757. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.48. Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.71 and a twelve month high of $193.26. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $179.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Howmet Aerospace Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 an increase from Howmet Aerospace's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Howmet Aerospace's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Howmet Aerospace in a report on Monday, June 30th. Vertical Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Howmet Aerospace in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $85.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Howmet Aerospace in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Howmet Aerospace from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.