ARGA Investment Management LP Cuts Stake in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

ARGA Investment Management LP lessened its position in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA - Free Report) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 493,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 64,850 shares during the period. Alcoa comprises 0.6% of ARGA Investment Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. ARGA Investment Management LP owned approximately 0.28% of Alcoa worth $16,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 37,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in Alcoa by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 19,788 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 5,058 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Alcoa in the 4th quarter worth about $93,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Alcoa by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,312,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $146,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa during the 4th quarter valued at about $526,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Alcoa from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. B. Riley boosted their target price on Alcoa from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley raised Alcoa from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $28.50 to $36.50 in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Alcoa from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Alcoa from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.54.

Alcoa Stock Up 0.3 %

Alcoa stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $40.15. The stock had a trading volume of 3,730,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,311,149. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 2.45. Alcoa Co. has a 12-month low of $23.07 and a 12-month high of $40.84. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $34.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.49.

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

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Alcoa's dividend payout ratio is presently -10.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alcoa news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total transaction of $814,685.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,089.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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.

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