Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL – Get Rating) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,742,806 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 212,487 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE's holdings in Hexcel were worth $222,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Hexcel by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 13,956 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $830,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC grew its holdings in Hexcel by 146.8% in the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 224,524 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $13,352,000 after buying an additional 133,565 shares during the period. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. purchased a new stake in Hexcel in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,401,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Hexcel in the 1st quarter valued at about $373,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Hexcel by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 494,889 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,431,000 after buying an additional 35,862 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.56% of the company's stock.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HXL opened at $58.63 on Wednesday. Hexcel Co. has a twelve month low of $46.77 and a twelve month high of $65.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.79 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.70.

Hexcel Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Hexcel's payout ratio is currently 37.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Thierry Merlot sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.83, for a total transaction of $152,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,889.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HXL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Hexcel from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Hexcel from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 15th. Vertical Research lifted their price objective on Hexcel to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Hexcel from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hexcel to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.20.

About Hexcel

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Hexcel Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets structural materials for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial markets. It operates through two segments, Composite Materials and Engineered Products. The Composite Materials segment manufactures and markets carbon fibers, fabrics and specialty reinforcements, prepregs and other fiber-reinforced matrix materials, structural adhesives, honeycomb, molding compounds, tooling materials, polyurethane systems, and laminates that are used in military and commercial aircraft, wind turbine blades, recreational products, and other industrial applications, as well as in automotive, marine, and trains.

Further Reading

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Hexcel (HXL)
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