Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 30,950 Shares of Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its stake in Curtiss-Wright Corporation by 4.0%, selling 30,950 shares and now owning approximately 1.97% of the company valued at $234.8 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Curtiss-Wright, with Citigroup increasing its target price to $568 and maintaining a "buy" rating, while other firms adjusted their ratings and price targets lower.
• Curtiss-Wright recently declared an increased quarterly dividend from $0.21 to $0.24, reflecting strong performance as the company reported a revenue increase of 13.0% year-over-year.

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 740,180 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 30,950 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 1.97% of Curtiss-Wright worth $234,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Curtiss-Wright by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 11,800 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Curtiss-Wright by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 130,787 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $41,495,000 after buying an additional 45,457 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 710 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 2,460.9% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 91,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $29,030,000 after buying an additional 87,927 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Curtiss-Wright during the 1st quarter valued at about $333,000. 82.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Curtiss-Wright Trading Down 0.7%

CW stock traded down $3.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $507.87. 485,211 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 295,861. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $475.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $388.76. Curtiss-Wright Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $266.78 and a fifty-two week high of $517.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.18, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.18.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.13 by $0.10. Curtiss-Wright had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 13.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.67 EPS. Curtiss-Wright's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Curtiss-Wright Corporation will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Curtiss-Wright Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from Curtiss-Wright's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Curtiss-Wright's payout ratio is currently 8.54%.

Insider Activity at Curtiss-Wright

In other news, Director Bruce D. Hoechner sold 1,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $851,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,026,304. This trade represents a 29.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John C. Watts sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.36, for a total value of $202,212.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 4,959 shares in the company, valued at $2,228,376.24. The trade was a 8.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CW shares. Wall Street Zen cut Curtiss-Wright from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $432.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $365.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $405.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Curtiss-Wright from $525.00 to $568.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $467.14.

About Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered products, solutions, and services mainly to aerospace and defense, commercial power, process, and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Industrial, Defense Electronics, and Naval & Power.