Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $133.84 Million Position in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly increased its stake in Wabtec by 2,220.1%, owning approximately 738,038 shares valued at $133.84 million after acquiring additional shares in the first quarter.
• Wabtec reported quarterly earnings of $2.27 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue of $2.71 billion, although slightly below forecasts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, indicating a 0.50% dividend yield, with the ex-dividend date on August 14th.

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Free Report) by 2,220.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 738,038 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 706,227 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of Wabtec worth $133,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Wabtec by 16.0% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 142,163 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,781,000 after purchasing an additional 19,600 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Wabtec by 2.8% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,437 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Wabtec by 3.0% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 313,459 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $56,846,000 after buying an additional 9,041 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Wabtec by 9.8% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 630 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Wabtec during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $231.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $175.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $201.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.71.

Insider Transactions at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 68,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.70, for a total value of $13,195,286.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 145,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,914,587.20. This trade represents a 32.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,299 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total transaction of $868,398.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,766,592. The trade was a 23.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 99,474 shares of company stock valued at $19,283,505. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wabtec Price Performance

Shares of WAB traded down $3.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $193.50. 964,088 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,048,833. Wabtec has a one year low of $147.66 and a one year high of $216.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $205.95 and a 200 day moving average of $194.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.12.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. Wabtec's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Wabtec's payout ratio is presently 14.93%.

Wabtec Company 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.