Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stake in BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,315,671 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 182,311 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in BWX Technologies were worth $257,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in BWX Technologies by 22.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,754,567 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $190,721,000 after purchasing an additional 320,217 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in BWX Technologies by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 27,066 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in BWX Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $613,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in BWX Technologies by 101.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,123 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC grew its stake in BWX Technologies by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 135,223 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,699,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. 94.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BWXT. Maxim Group boosted their price target on BWX Technologies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on BWX Technologies from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on BWX Technologies from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of BWX Technologies from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.38.

BWX Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of BWX Technologies stock opened at $100.54 on Wednesday. BWX Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $86.70 and a one year high of $136.31. The company has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 33.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.55.

BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The technology company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $746.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $653.16 million. BWX Technologies had a net margin of 10.32% and a return on equity of 31.95%. Research analysts expect that BWX Technologies, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BWX Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from BWX Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. BWX Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.57%.

Insider Activity at BWX Technologies

In other news, SVP Robert L. Duffy sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.03, for a total transaction of $624,180.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $333,520.18. The trade was a 65.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rex D. Geveden sold 45,625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.40, for a total transaction of $4,900,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 218,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,436,613.20. This trade represents a 17.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,625 shares of company stock valued at $5,734,145 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

BWX Technologies Company Profile

BWX Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells nuclear components in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Government Operations and Commercial Operations. The Government Operations segment designs and manufactures naval nuclear components, reactors, and nuclear fuel; fabrication activities; and supplies proprietary and sole-source valves, manifolds, and fittings to naval and commercial shipping customers.