Ethic Inc. Sells 1,802 Shares of Wabtec $WAB

Ethic Inc. trimmed its position in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,227 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,802 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Wabtec were worth $16,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Wabtec by 295.1% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 391,942 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $112,578,000 after buying an additional 292,733 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 8.4% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 111.3% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 3,977 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after buying an additional 2,095 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP boosted its stake in shares of Wabtec by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,112 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wabtec news, insider Michael Fetsko sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $952,965.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,960,563.60. This represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory Sbrocco sold 952 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $6,312,900. The trade was a 4.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,289 shares of company stock valued at $1,555,741. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WAB shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Wabtec from $315.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $293.00 to $292.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $284.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $318.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.18.

Wabtec Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of WAB stock opened at $283.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $284.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $269.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $47.65 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.93. Wabtec has a 12-month low of $194.93 and a 12-month high of $306.64.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Wabtec had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 11.20%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Wabtec will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

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

Wabtec Profile

Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB), also known as Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, supplies equipment, systems and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries. Its products include locomotives, braking and train control systems, propulsion equipment, and components designed to support rail safety and performance.

The company also provides aftermarket services, including maintenance, modernization, parts and digital solutions for rail operators. Its offerings serve freight railroads, transit agencies and other customers in the global rail industry.

Wabtec was formed in 1999 through the merger of Westinghouse Air Brake Company and MotivePower Industries, bringing together businesses with roots in rail equipment dating to the 19th century.