Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 62,401 Shares of BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE:BWA)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in BorgWarner Inc. by 536.7% during the 1st quarter, now owning 74,027 shares valued at approximately $2.12 million.
• Analysts have recently given positive ratings to BorgWarner, with Wells Fargo raising the price target from $45.00 to $46.00 and several others issuing buy ratings, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• BorgWarner has approved a $1 billion stock buyback program and recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.11 to $0.17, reflecting confidence in the company's value and financial health.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE:BWA - Free Report) by 536.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,027 shares of the auto parts company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,401 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in BorgWarner were worth $2,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in BorgWarner by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 31,844 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 5,630 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP bought a new position in BorgWarner in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,104,000. IPG Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BorgWarner during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,027,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its holdings in shares of BorgWarner by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 5,616 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BorgWarner during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BWA shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of BorgWarner from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BorgWarner from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of BorgWarner from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of BorgWarner from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of BorgWarner from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.50.

BorgWarner Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of BorgWarner stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $38.51. 1,921,590 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,065,102. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.66. BorgWarner Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.40 and a 1-year high of $38.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.10.

BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The auto parts company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.15. BorgWarner had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. BorgWarner's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BorgWarner Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BorgWarner Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from BorgWarner's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. BorgWarner's payout ratio is 46.81%.

BorgWarner announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 31st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto parts company to reacquire up to 13.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BorgWarner news, VP Isabelle Mckenzie sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.25, for a total transaction of $166,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 63,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,109,546.25. The trade was a 7.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

BorgWarner Profile

BorgWarner Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides solutions for combustion, hybrid, and electric vehicles worldwide. It offers turbochargers, eBoosters, eTurbos, timing systems, emissions systems, thermal systems, gasoline ignition technology, smart remote actuators, powertrain sensors, cabin heaters, battery modules and systems, battery heaters, and battery charging.