Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Decreases Stake in Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Howmet Aerospace were worth $2,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HWM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Howmet Aerospace by 8.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,711,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,775,578,000 after buying an additional 1,336,592 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,440,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,748,378,000 after acquiring an additional 384,171 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,502,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $949,382,000 after acquiring an additional 453,275 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Howmet Aerospace by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,305,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,101,000 after purchasing an additional 114,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Howmet Aerospace by 12.2% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,378,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,159,000 after purchasing an additional 150,387 shares in the last quarter. 90.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Howmet Aerospace Stock Performance

Shares of HWM stock opened at $133.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.50. Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a one year low of $62.70 and a one year high of $133.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $118.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.74.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.03. Howmet Aerospace had a return on equity of 24.50% and a net margin of 14.81%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Howmet Aerospace Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Howmet Aerospace Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. This is a boost from Howmet Aerospace’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Howmet Aerospace’s payout ratio is presently 12.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Howmet Aerospace from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $113.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $120.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Howmet Aerospace from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.76.

Howmet Aerospace Company 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.