Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Curtiss-Wright Co. (NYSE:CW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright Co. (NYSE:CW) by 170.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,435 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 163,433 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Curtiss-Wright were worth $92,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CW. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Curtiss-Wright during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 169 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CW. Alembic Global Advisors began coverage on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $412.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Curtiss-Wright from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $370.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $334.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $333.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $452.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $386.86.

Curtiss-Wright Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CW opened at $325.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $354.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $342.60. Curtiss-Wright Co. has a one year low of $232.82 and a one year high of $393.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The aerospace company reported $3.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by $0.15. Curtiss-Wright had a net margin of 13.20% and a return on equity of 17.21%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Curtiss-Wright Co. will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Curtiss-Wright Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th. Curtiss-Wright’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.95%.

Insider Transactions at Curtiss-Wright

In related news, COO Kevin Rayment sold 2,664 shares of Curtiss-Wright stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.92, for a total transaction of $924,194.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 24,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,953.12. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lynn M. Bamford sold 8,289 shares of Curtiss-Wright stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.87, for a total transaction of $2,875,205.43. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,494,977.35. The trade was a 17.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 116 shares of company stock valued at $35,278 and have sold 23,064 shares valued at $8,157,322. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Curtiss-Wright Profile

Curtiss-Wright Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered products, solutions, and services mainly to aerospace and defense, commercial power, process, and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Industrial, Defense Electronics, and Naval & Power.