Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 5,241 Shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM - Free Report) by 66.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,149 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,241 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Howmet Aerospace were worth $1,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Howmet Aerospace in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 208.1% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 228 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Howmet Aerospace during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Howmet Aerospace in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Howmet Aerospace during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HWM shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Howmet Aerospace from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Benchmark lifted their price target on Howmet Aerospace from $85.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Howmet Aerospace in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Howmet Aerospace from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Barbara Lou Shultz sold 1,250 shares of Howmet Aerospace stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.17, for a total value of $193,962.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 23,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,575,737.48. The trade was a 5.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John C. Plant sold 800,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.96, for a total transaction of $125,568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 236,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,127,946.24. The trade was a 77.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 831,250 shares of company stock worth $130,517,863 over the last ninety days. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Howmet Aerospace Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of HWM traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $175.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,637,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,714,909. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.98. Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.83 and a fifty-two week high of $177.25. The firm has a market cap of $70.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.09. Howmet Aerospace had a return on equity of 25.74% and a net margin of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Howmet Aerospace's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Howmet Aerospace Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Howmet Aerospace Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Howmet Aerospace's dividend payout ratio is 13.03%.

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.