1,135,059 Shares in Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) Purchased by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Howmet Aerospace, purchasing 1,135,059 shares valued at approximately $147.25 million, representing about 0.28% ownership of the company.
• Howmet Aerospace reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.91, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.87, with revenues of $2.05 billion, marking a 9.2% increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a dividend increase from $0.10 to $0.12 per share, representing a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%, payable on August 25th.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,135,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $147,251,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned approximately 0.28% of Howmet Aerospace as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HWM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Howmet Aerospace by 236.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,816 shares of the company's stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace in the 4th quarter valued at $12,318,000. Finally, Aviva PLC increased its holdings in Howmet Aerospace by 217.8% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 234,217 shares of the company's stock worth $25,616,000 after purchasing an additional 160,528 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HWM. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Howmet Aerospace from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. BTIG Research set a $205.00 target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Howmet Aerospace from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Howmet Aerospace from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $172.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Howmet Aerospace

In other news, EVP Neil Edward Marchuk sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.53, for a total transaction of $4,755,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 131,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,903,607.27. This represents a 18.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. Plant sold 800,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.96, for a total transaction of $125,568,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 236,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,127,946.24. This represents a 77.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.04% of the company's stock.

Howmet Aerospace Price Performance

NYSE HWM traded up $2.66 on Wednesday, hitting $181.98. The company had a trading volume of 2,016,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,945,899. The company's fifty day moving average price is $178.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.10. Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.64 and a 12-month high of $193.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $73.36 billion, a PE ratio of 53.21, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.48.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. Howmet Aerospace had a return on equity of 28.17% and a net margin of 18.09%. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Howmet Aerospace Inc. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Howmet Aerospace Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a positive change from Howmet Aerospace's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Howmet Aerospace's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.70%.

Howmet Aerospace Profile

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.