Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 2,268 Shares of Wabtec $WAB

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management increased its holdings in Wabtec by 11.7%, acquiring an additional 2,268 shares in the second quarter, bringing their total to 21,649 shares, worth approximately $4.5 million.
• Wabtec's CEO, Rafael Santana, sold 1,799 shares valued at over $341,000, resulting in a 1.30% decrease in his ownership of the stock, while insiders have sold a total of 5,369 shares in recent months.
• Analyst ratings for Wabtec vary, with recent reports showing a mix of upgrades and downgrades, leading to the company having an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.57.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Free Report) by 11.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,649 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,268 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Wabtec were worth $4,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 2,220.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 738,038 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $133,843,000 after purchasing an additional 706,227 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 380,793 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $69,057,000 after acquiring an additional 120,057 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in Wabtec by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 69,800 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $12,658,000 after purchasing an additional 20,100 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew 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 acquiring an additional 19,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 159.0% in the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 16,561 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 10,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,798 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.63, for a total value of $340,954.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,586,965.53. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 5,369 shares of company stock valued at $1,042,586 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WAB shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Wabtec from $231.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Wabtec from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Wabtec from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Wabtec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.57.

Wabtec Price Performance

Wabtec stock traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $188.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,284,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 990,996. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Wabtec has a 1-year low of $151.81 and a 1-year high of $216.10. The stock's fifty day moving average is $194.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.16, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. Wabtec had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 10.92%.The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Wabtec has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.550-9.150 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Wabtec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.93%.

About Wabtec

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.