Weitz Investment Management Inc. Takes $52.74 Million Position in Heico Corporation $HEI

Weitz Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Heico Corporation (NYSE:HEI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 204,479 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,737,000. Heico accounts for about 3.7% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Heico at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Heico in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,733,000. George Kaiser Family Foundation acquired a new stake in Heico during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $463,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. purchased a new position in shares of Heico in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,111,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heico in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,385,000. Finally, PCM Encore LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heico in the second quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Heico news, CAO Bradley K. Rowen sold 1,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.63, for a total value of $320,401.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Heico Stock Up 1.4%

Heico stock opened at $355.49 on Friday. Heico Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $256.11 and a fifty-two week high of $376.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $353.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Heico (NYSE:HEI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The aerospace company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.33. Heico had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 16.08%.The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Heico Corporation will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heico Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a yield of 7.0%. Heico’s payout ratio is presently 4.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HEI. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Heico from $375.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heico from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $370.00 target price on shares of Heico in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $390.00 target price (up from $371.00) on shares of Heico in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Heico to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Heico has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.56.

Heico Company Profile

HEICO Corporation is an aerospace, defense and electronics company that designs, manufactures, and sells a range of products and provides repair and aftermarket services. Headquartered in Hollywood, Florida, HEICO supplies replacement components, repair services and engineered systems for commercial and business aviation, military and space markets as well as for selected industrial and medical customers. The company’s offerings are focused on sustaining and improving the reliability and availability of complex equipment across its end markets.

HEICO operates through two principal business areas.