Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. Lowers Stake in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. (NYSE:WAB)

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. (NYSE:WAB) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,081,943 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,440 shares during the quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies were worth $205,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAB. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,613 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,383,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares during the period. Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $252,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 278,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,665,000 after buying an additional 13,683 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 88.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,031,000 after acquiring an additional 14,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $61,474,000. 91.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 886 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.34, for a total transaction of $161,553.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 176,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,145,630.30. This represents a 0.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WAB. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.33.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies stock opened at $181.52 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.02. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. has a 52-week low of $143.22 and a 52-week high of $210.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.01 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.31.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.06). Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 12.78%. On average, analysts anticipate that Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.58%.

About Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides technology-based locomotives, equipment, systems, and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries worldwide. It offers diesel-electric, battery, and liquid natural gas-powered locomotives; engines, electric motors, and propulsion systems; and marine and mining products.