Royal Bank of Canada Sells 106,858 Shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM)

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,892,852 shares of the company's stock after selling 106,858 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.47% of Howmet Aerospace worth $207,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace in the fourth quarter worth about $1,001,558,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,198,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,209,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486,649 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Howmet Aerospace during the 4th quarter worth approximately $265,844,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Howmet Aerospace by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,947,354 shares of the company's stock worth $1,197,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 930,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,772,000 after buying an additional 845,941 shares during the period. 90.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Howmet Aerospace Stock Down 1.4%

HWM traded down $2.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $162.80. 1,858,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,701,555. The company has a market cap of $65.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.37. Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a one year low of $76.83 and a one year high of $166.50. The company's fifty day moving average price is $136.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.17.

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

Howmet Aerospace Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Howmet Aerospace's payout ratio is currently 13.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped 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. Northcoast Research upgraded Howmet Aerospace from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Howmet Aerospace from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Howmet Aerospace currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $132.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Barbara Lou Shultz sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was 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 owns 23,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,575,737.48. This trade represents a 5.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John C. Plant sold 800,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 236,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 831,250 shares of company stock worth $130,517,863. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.