Van ECK Associates Corp Has $122.47 Million Stock Position in Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH - Free Report) by 51.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 951,605 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 324,159 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.74% of Booz Allen Hamilton worth $122,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Booz Allen Hamilton during the third quarter valued at $31,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Booz Allen Hamilton during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Booz Allen Hamilton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Booz Allen Hamilton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Booz Allen Hamilton during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 91.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booz Allen Hamilton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAH traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $117.68. 1,694,501 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,996,057. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.57. Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. has a 52 week low of $115.97 and a 52 week high of $190.59. The company has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.55. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $131.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.61.

Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.07. Booz Allen Hamilton had a net margin of 7.39% and a return on equity of 68.97%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booz Allen Hamilton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. This is an increase from Booz Allen Hamilton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Booz Allen Hamilton's dividend payout ratio is 30.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Booz Allen Hamilton from $177.00 to $171.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays upgraded Booz Allen Hamilton from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $200.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Booz Allen Hamilton currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.91.

Booz Allen Hamilton Profile

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation provides management and technology consulting, analytics, engineering, digital solutions, mission operations, and cyber services to governments, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations in the United States and internationally. It focuses on artificial intelligence services comprising of machine learning, predictive modeling, automation and decision analytics, and quantum computing.