Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) Shares Sold by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,299 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 9,510 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Textron were worth $4,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Textron by 10.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 164,029 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $14,505,000 after purchasing an additional 15,294 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Textron in the fourth quarter worth about $11,523,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Textron in the third quarter worth about $828,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Textron by 87.7% in the third quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,305 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,659,000 after acquiring an additional 19,304 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of Textron in the third quarter worth about $1,797,000. 86.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Textron Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Textron stock traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $76.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,237,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,290,846. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.33. Textron Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.89 and a 12-month high of $97.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.27.

Textron (NYSE:TXT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.09). Textron had a return on equity of 16.02% and a net margin of 6.30%. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Textron Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Textron Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.10%. Textron's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TXT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Textron from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Textron to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Textron from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Textron from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Textron from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.64.

About Textron

Textron Inc operates in the aircraft, defense, industrial, and finance businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Textron Aviation, Bell, Textron Systems, Industrial, Textron eAviation, and Finance. The Textron Aviation segment manufactures, sells, and services business jets, turboprop and piston engine aircraft, and military trainer and defense aircraft; and offers maintenance, inspection, and repair services, as well as sells commercial parts.