ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 11,978 Shares of BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 541,695 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 11,978 shares during the quarter. BWX Technologies accounts for about 2.1% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.59% of BWX Technologies worth $41,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of BWX Technologies by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 368,827 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,300,000 after purchasing an additional 14,973 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in BWX Technologies by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,884,236 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $141,280,000 after acquiring an additional 32,664 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in BWX Technologies by 11.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 67,250 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,042,000 after acquiring an additional 6,853 shares in the last quarter. EAM Investors LLC bought a new position in shares of BWX Technologies during the third quarter valued at $1,621,000. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BWX Technologies by 100.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,340 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,625,000 after purchasing an additional 24,230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.39% of the company’s stock.

BWX Technologies Price Performance

Shares of BWX Technologies stock traded down $1.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.60. The company had a trading volume of 620,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,495. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.62. BWX Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.17 and a 1-year high of $107.18. The company has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.73.

BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The technology company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.07. BWX Technologies had a return on equity of 32.38% and a net margin of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $725.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $659.42 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BWX Technologies, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

BWX Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from BWX Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. BWX Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BWXT. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of BWX Technologies in a research report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of BWX Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on BWX Technologies from $82.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

BWX Technologies 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.