Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 3,961 Shares of Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT - Free Report) by 55.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,077 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,961 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Textron were worth $847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Textron by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 164,029 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $14,505,000 after buying an additional 15,294 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Textron by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 24,200 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Textron during the fourth quarter valued at $11,523,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Textron by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,147 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Textron by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 40,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,077,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. 86.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark S. Bamford sold 5,451 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.68, for a total transaction of $396,178.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,324,447.64. This trade represents a 23.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Textron from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Textron from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Textron from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Textron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Textron from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Textron has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.30.

Textron Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TXT traded up $0.93 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.51. 2,352,821 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,196,473. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.42. Textron Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.70 and a 52 week high of $95.86. The company has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.06.

Textron (NYSE:TXT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The aerospace company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.07. Textron had a net margin of 6.01% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Textron Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Textron Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Textron's dividend payout ratio is 1.86%.

Textron Profile

Textron Inc operates in the aircraft, defense, industrial, and finance businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Textron Aviation, Bell, Textron Systems, Industrial, Textron eAviation, and Finance. The Textron Aviation segment manufactures, sells, and services business jets, turboprop and piston engine aircraft, and military trainer and defense aircraft; and offers maintenance, inspection, and repair services, as well as sells commercial parts.