Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stake in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,554 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Alcoa were worth $1,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alcoa during the fourth quarter worth $259,273,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 151.5% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 47,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 28,549 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,979,129 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $981,491,000 after acquiring an additional 165,420 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 163,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,173,000 after acquiring an additional 5,446 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Alcoa in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,485,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.39% of the company’s stock.

Alcoa Stock Down 9.3 %

Shares of AA opened at $24.79 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of -154.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.55. Alcoa Co. has a 52-week low of $23.62 and a 52-week high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 5.54%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alcoa Co. will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Alcoa’s payout ratio is -250.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AA. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. B. Riley raised shares of Alcoa to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Alcoa from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.92.

Alcoa Company 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.