Vestcor Inc Grows Holdings in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its stake in The Boeing Company by 9.0% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 1,195 shares, bringing its total holding to 14,489 shares valued at around $2.47 million.
• Boeing's stock traded at $221.94, with a market capitalization of $167.82 billion, while analysts expect a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.44 for the company.
• Wall Street analysts have given Boeing an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with a target price of $229.18, while some firms recently upgraded their ratings to "strong-buy."

Vestcor Inc lifted its position in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,489 shares of the aircraft producer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Boeing were worth $2,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Boeing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $568,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Boeing in the 4th quarter worth approximately $526,889,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Boeing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $393,736,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Boeing by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,504,610 shares of the aircraft producer's stock valued at $1,151,316,000 after buying an additional 1,634,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Boeing during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $265,500,000. 64.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BA shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Boeing from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Boeing from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $212.00 target price on Boeing and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. TD Securities cut Boeing to a "cautious" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Boeing from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.90.

Insider Activity at Boeing

In other news, SVP Brendan J. Nelson sold 640 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.28, for a total value of $132,019.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,734,860.24. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey S. Shockey sold 3,205 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.87, for a total transaction of $650,198.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,513 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,472.31. This trade represents a 13.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Boeing Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BA traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $221.94. 8,556,620 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,665,790. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $215.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.67. The Boeing Company has a 52-week low of $128.88 and a 52-week high of $242.69. The stock has a market cap of $167.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.44 and a beta of 1.48.

Boeing (NYSE:BA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The aircraft producer reported ($1.24) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $22.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.13 billion. Boeing's revenue for the quarter was up 34.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($2.90) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Boeing Company will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Boeing Company Profile

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services segments.