Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Boosts Stake in Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA - Free Report) by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,800 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in Alcoa were worth $2,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alcoa during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Alcoa by 481.7% in the third 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 during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Alcoa by 1,501.9% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,698 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Alcoa by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,353 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alcoa during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Institutional investors own 82.39% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Renato Bacchi sold 23,867 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction of $1,009,335.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,935.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alcoa Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AA traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $41.40. 4,317,603 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,927,401. The company has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.01 and a beta of 2.42. Alcoa Co. has a one year low of $23.80 and a one year high of $45.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $36.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.02.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.34. Alcoa had a negative return on equity of 7.29% and a negative net margin of 5.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.14) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Alcoa Co. will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alcoa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 29th. Alcoa's payout ratio is currently -10.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Alcoa from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. B. Riley upgraded shares of Alcoa from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alcoa from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alcoa has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.75.

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.