ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Holdings in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA - Free Report) by 10,996.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 140,819 shares of the aircraft producer's stock after buying an additional 139,550 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Boeing were worth $24,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Boeing by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,442,717 shares of the aircraft producer's stock worth $11,406,361,000 after purchasing an additional 12,641,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Boeing by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,171,869 shares of the aircraft producer's stock worth $2,677,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,452,075 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boeing during the fourth quarter worth about $568,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Boeing during the fourth quarter worth about $526,889,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Boeing during the fourth quarter worth about $393,736,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Christopher Raymond sold 3,899 shares of Boeing stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.01, for a total transaction of $729,151.99. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,950,356.13. This trade represents a 8.40% 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, SVP Brendan J. Nelson sold 640 shares of Boeing stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.28, for a total transaction of $132,019.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,734,860.24. The trade was a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,744 shares of company stock worth $1,511,370. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Boeing Stock Performance

NYSE:BA traded up $3.72 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $215.75. The stock had a trading volume of 4,476,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,472,233. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.04 and a beta of 1.41. The Boeing Company has a twelve month low of $128.88 and a twelve month high of $218.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.77.

Boeing (NYSE:BA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The aircraft producer reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.39) by $0.90. The company had revenue of $19.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.13) earnings per share. Boeing's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Boeing Company will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BA has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Boeing from $207.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Boeing from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $200.00 price objective on Boeing and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $205.00) on shares of Boeing in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised Boeing from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.77.

About Boeing

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.