Todd Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT)

Key Points

• Todd Asset Management LLC has significantly reduced its holdings in Textron Inc. by 54.8%, selling 257,597 shares during the first quarter.
• Textron recently posted a profitable quarter, reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.55, beating estimates and achieving a revenue increase of 5.4% year-over-year.
• Several analysts have upgraded Textron's stock ratings, with UBS Group raising its price target from $73 to $88, indicating bullish sentiment from market experts.

Todd Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT - Free Report) by 54.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 212,695 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 257,597 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Textron worth $15,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TXT. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Textron by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 38,424 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,776,000 after acquiring an additional 9,082 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Textron by 166.8% during the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 67,000 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,125,000 after acquiring an additional 41,888 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Textron by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,193 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,474,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Textron during the 1st quarter valued at about $545,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Textron by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 965,755 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $69,776,000 after acquiring an additional 20,733 shares during the period. 86.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Textron news, EVP Julie G. Duffy sold 28,543 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.37, for a total value of $2,265,457.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,986,216.88. The trade was a 43.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Textron Stock Up 1.2%

TXT traded up $0.92 on Tuesday, reaching $78.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,263,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,925,626. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. Textron Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.70 and a fifty-two week high of $91.48.

Textron (NYSE:TXT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. Textron had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 5.80%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Textron Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Textron Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Textron's payout ratio is currently 1.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded Textron from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $73.00 to $88.00 in a report on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Textron in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Textron from $71.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Textron from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Textron from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.67.

Textron Company Profile

Textron Inc operates in the aircraft, defense, industrial, and finance businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Textron Aviation, Bell, Textron Systems, Industrial, Textron eAviation, and Finance. The Textron Aviation segment manufactures, sells, and services business jets, turboprop and piston engine aircraft, and military trainer and defense aircraft; and offers maintenance, inspection, and repair services, as well as sells commercial parts.