Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Purchases 2,586 Shares of Wabtec $WAB

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 9.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,586 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Wabtec were worth $8,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wabtec in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,741,077,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Wabtec by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,905,748 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,131,390,000 after acquiring an additional 164,806 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Wabtec by 43.9% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,580,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $426,216,000 after acquiring an additional 482,323 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Wabtec by 2.4% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,424,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $384,165,000 after acquiring an additional 33,942 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Wabtec in the second quarter valued at about $212,692,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Wabtec from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Stephens lifted their price objective on Wabtec from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Wabtec from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Wabtec from $284.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Wabtec from $315.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.18.

Insider Transactions at Wabtec

In other news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,087 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.79, for a total transaction of $317,175.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 116,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,892,867.45. This represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Gregory Sbrocco sold 952 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $285,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,312,900. The trade was a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,289 shares of company stock valued at $1,555,741 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wabtec Trading Down 5.7%

WAB opened at $278.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.93. Wabtec has a 12 month low of $194.93 and a 12 month high of $306.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $268.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 11.20%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wabtec will post 10.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. Wabtec’s payout ratio is 15.40%.

Wabtec Company Profile

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, doing business as Wabtec (NYSE: WAB), is a global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and services for the freight and passenger rail industries. The company develops technologies intended to improve the safety, efficiency, reliability and sustainability of rail transportation.

Wabtec’s products and services include locomotives, locomotive components and modernization programs, braking systems, train control and signaling equipment, power and propulsion systems, and advanced digital solutions.