Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,040 Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 591,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,040 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Alcoa were worth $22,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AA. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,973 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Alcoa by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 6,521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Alcoa by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AA shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Alcoa to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alcoa presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.55.

Alcoa Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AA opened at $34.40 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.93 and a 200-day moving average of $37.92. The firm has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a PE ratio of -214.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 2.43. Alcoa Co. has a twelve month low of $24.86 and a twelve month high of $47.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 0.50%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alcoa Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Alcoa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -250.00%.

Alcoa 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.