New York State Common Retirement Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB)

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,163 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,600 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Wabtec worth $25,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Twin Tree Management LP boosted its stake in Wabtec by 108.8% during the fourth quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 2,960 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 36,435 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in shares of Wabtec by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 27,266 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $5,169,000 after purchasing an additional 3,441 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Wabtec by 114.7% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,907 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,087 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Wabtec by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,400 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Wabtec during the 4th quarter valued at $22,509,000. 91.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rogerio Mendonca sold 4,033 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.04, for a total value of $806,761.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,307,461.40. This represents a 25.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Eric Gebhardt sold 6,151 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.39, for a total value of $1,244,900.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 18,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,784,085.83. The trade was a 24.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 103,474 shares of company stock valued at $20,022,025. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wabtec Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Wabtec stock traded down $0.84 on Friday, hitting $211.86. 813,745 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,057,267. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $205.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Wabtec has a 52 week low of $147.66 and a 52 week high of $216.10. The company has a market cap of $36.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.21, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.12.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Wabtec's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WAB shares. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $218.00 to $210.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $231.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $175.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $201.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Wabtec in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wabtec has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $216.83.

Wabtec Profile

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides technology-based locomotives, equipment, systems, and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries worldwide. It offers diesel-electric, battery, and liquid natural gas-powered locomotives; engines, electric motors, and propulsion systems; and marine and mining products.