Eads & Heald Wealth Management Cuts Stock Position in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

Eads & Heald Wealth Management reduced its position in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) by 42.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,685 shares during the quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Alcoa were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in Alcoa by 4,737.1% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,578,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $208,174,000 after acquiring an additional 4,483,625 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Alcoa during the 1st quarter valued at about $318,670,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alcoa during the 4th quarter valued at about $128,592,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Alcoa during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,557,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Alcoa by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,941,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $172,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185,323 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Alcoa

In related news, EVP Tammi A. Jones sold 26,468 shares of Alcoa stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 41,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,267,089.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AA shares. UBS Group started coverage on Alcoa in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “sell” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Alcoa from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com raised Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Alcoa from $27.00 to $29.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Alcoa from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.88.

Alcoa Stock Performance

NYSE:AA traded down $1.20 on Tuesday, reaching $35.37. 1,677,985 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,203,857. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.88. Alcoa Co. has a 12 month low of $23.07 and a 12 month high of $42.23.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The industrial products company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by $0.29. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 6.56% and a negative net margin of 6.17%. The business had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.70) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Alcoa Co. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.13%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -10.96%.

About Alcoa

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.