Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 15,100 Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 416,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,100 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Alcoa were worth $15,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AA. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Alcoa in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Alcoa by 481.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Alcoa during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Alcoa by 1,945.5% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 399.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $1,009,335.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. This represents a 29.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Alcoa Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AA opened at $39.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 2.47. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.70 and its 200 day moving average is $37.79. Alcoa Co. has a 1 year low of $24.86 and a 1 year high of $47.77.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Alcoa had a negative net margin of 2.65% and a negative return on equity of 1.45%. Alcoa’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.14) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Alcoa Co. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AA shares. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alcoa to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alcoa currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.36.

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.