Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 23,068 Shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Howmet Aerospace by 3.1%, acquiring an additional 23,068 shares, bringing their total holdings to approximately 779,286 shares valued at about $101 million.
• Analysts show optimism for Howmet Aerospace, with the stock receiving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $150.44 as of recent reports, despite some downgrades.
• Howmet Aerospace declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12, representing a boost from the previous $0.10, with the next payout scheduled for August 25th.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 779,286 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 23,068 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.19% of Howmet Aerospace worth $101,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 208.1% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 228 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Howmet Aerospace during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its holdings in Howmet Aerospace by 114.6% during the first quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 264 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Howmet Aerospace during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Howmet Aerospace during the first quarter worth $37,000. 90.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $85.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Vertical Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Howmet Aerospace in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Howmet Aerospace presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Howmet Aerospace

In related news, CEO John C. Plant sold 800,000 shares of Howmet Aerospace 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Barbara Lou Shultz sold 1,250 shares of Howmet Aerospace stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.17, for a total transaction of $193,962.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 23,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,575,737.48. This trade represents a 5.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 831,250 shares of company stock worth $130,517,863 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Howmet Aerospace Price Performance

HWM traded up $4.63 on Friday, reaching $184.40. The company had a trading volume of 5,089,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,663,346. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.14. The company has a market cap of $74.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 2.31. Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.39 and a 52-week high of $193.26.

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

Howmet Aerospace Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Howmet Aerospace's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Howmet Aerospace's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.03%.

Howmet Aerospace Company Profile

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.