Magna International (NYSE:MGA) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

Magna International Inc. (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) shares saw strong trading volume on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $69.00 to $71.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 5,392,160 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 297% from the previous session’s volume of 1,358,633 shares.The stock last traded at $48.44 and had previously closed at $48.34.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on MGA. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Magna International from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Magna International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $73.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Magna International from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Magna International from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Magna International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Magna International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.50.

Institutional Trading of Magna International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in Magna International by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 9,811,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,609,429 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Magna International by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,966,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,430,000 after purchasing an additional 157,808 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Magna International by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 950,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. raised its position in Magna International by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 667,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,378,000 after purchasing an additional 6,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC raised its position in Magna International by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 189,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,214,000 after purchasing an additional 53,695 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.49% of the company’s stock.

Magna International Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $14.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $53.09 and its 200 day moving average is $54.25.

Magna International (NYSE:MGA) (TSE:MG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $10.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.44 billion. Magna International had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Magna International Inc. will post 6.11 EPS for the current year.

Magna International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. This is an increase from Magna International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Magna International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.02%.

About Magna International

Magna International Inc designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. It operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles.