Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 345,004 Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA - Free Report) by 61.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 904,407 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 345,004 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.51% of Alcoa worth $30,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alcoa by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,485 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 64.2% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 990 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Alcoa by 2.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 20,874 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Alcoa by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 87,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,991,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Alcoa by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 769 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total value of $814,685.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,267,089.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of AA traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,382,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,472,987. Alcoa Co. has a one year low of $23.07 and a one year high of $38.20. The stock's 50-day moving average is $32.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of -9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 2.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 6.41% and a negative return on equity of 8.51%. Alcoa's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alcoa Co. will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Alcoa's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -10.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Alcoa from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alcoa from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.54.

Alcoa Company Profile

Alcoa Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products in the United States, Spain, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Brazil, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Alumina and Aluminum. It engages in bauxite mining operations; and processes bauxite into alumina and sells it to customers who process it into industrial chemical products, as well as aluminum smelting and casting businesses.