Bank of America Downgrades Magna International (NYSE:MGA) to Neutral

Bank of America lowered shares of Magna International (NYSE:MGA - Free Report) TSE: MG from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $48.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $52.00.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on MGA. StockNews.com raised shares of Magna International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Magna International from $46.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Magna International from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Magna International from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Magna International from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.03.

Magna International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MGA traded up $2.72 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,776,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,651,189. The firm's fifty day moving average is $39.66 and its 200 day moving average is $41.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.65. Magna International has a twelve month low of $33.30 and a twelve month high of $56.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Magna International (NYSE:MGA - Get Free Report) TSE: MG last released its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $10.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.32 billion. Magna International had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Magna International will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Magna International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.26%. This is a boost from Magna International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Magna International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MGA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Magna International by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 210,632 shares of the company's stock worth $8,644,000 after purchasing an additional 21,532 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Magna International by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,290 shares of the company's stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Magna International in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its position in shares of Magna International by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 43,484 shares of the company's stock worth $1,785,000 after acquiring an additional 4,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Magna International by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 149,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,128,000 after buying an additional 16,639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.49% of the company's stock.

About Magna International

Magna International Inc designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. It operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles.