California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 37,303 Shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 360,732 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,303 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.14% of Alcoa worth $13,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Alcoa in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 1,945.5% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 78.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the period. 82.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AA. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down from $58.00) on shares of Alcoa in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Alcoa to $43.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Alcoa from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. B. Riley raised shares of Alcoa to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Alcoa from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.25.

Alcoa Trading Down 9.6 %

Shares of NYSE AA traded down $2.49 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $23.37. 2,821,420 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,418,064. Alcoa Co. has a 52-week low of $21.53 and a 52-week high of $47.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.62. The company has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -145.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a net margin of 0.50% and a return on equity of 5.54%. Equities research analysts expect that Alcoa Co. will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Alcoa's payout ratio is -250.00%.

About Alcoa

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.