Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) Shares Sold by First Republic Investment Management Inc.

First Republic Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Hexcel Co. (NYSE:HXL) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,123 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,225 shares during the quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Hexcel were worth $1,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HXL. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Hexcel by 838.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,810,199 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $400,780,000 after buying an additional 6,084,592 shares during the period. Jackson Square Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hexcel during the first quarter worth approximately $86,847,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hexcel in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,738,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Hexcel by 206.6% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 780,302 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,256,000 after acquiring an additional 525,820 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hexcel by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,420,295 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $500,755,000 after buying an additional 475,375 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gail E. Lehman sold 1,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.15, for a total transaction of $110,205.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,942 shares in the company, valued at $486,981.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HXL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Hexcel from $73.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hexcel from $71.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hexcel in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wolfe Research raised Hexcel from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Hexcel from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hexcel currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.22.

Hexcel Price Performance

Shares of HXL opened at $71.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Hexcel Co. has a 12-month low of $50.00 and a 12-month high of $79.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.36. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 40.97 and a beta of 1.22.

Hexcel (NYSE:HXL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $454.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $450.15 million. Hexcel had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The company’s revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hexcel Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hexcel Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 4th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 3rd. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Hexcel’s payout ratio is 28.74%.

Hexcel Profile

Hexcel Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets carbon fibers, structural reinforcements, honeycomb structures, resins, and composite materials and parts for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial applications. It operates through two segments, Composite Materials and Engineered Products.