Boeing (NYSE:BA) Shares Down 1.5% on Analyst Downgrade

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) shares fell 1.5% on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $113.00 to $111.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Boeing traded as low as $155.27 and last traded at $156.84. 5,268,252 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 9,005,995 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.28.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on BA. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Boeing from $208.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius Research set a $204.00 price objective on shares of Boeing in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on Boeing from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boeing to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays raised Boeing from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boeing currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.00.

Insider Activity at Boeing

In other news, EVP Uma M. Amuluru sold 3,159 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.69, for a total transaction of $570,799.71. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,471,596.97. This trade represents a 14.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boeing

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Boeing by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,442,717 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock valued at $11,406,361,000 after buying an additional 12,641,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Boeing by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,171,869 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock worth $2,677,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,452,075 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Boeing by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,504,610 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock valued at $1,151,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634,231 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Boeing by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,030,899 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock worth $890,469,000 after purchasing an additional 164,042 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Boeing by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,178,444 shares of the aircraft producer’s stock worth $739,585,000 after purchasing an additional 981,796 shares in the last quarter. 64.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Boeing Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $117.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.57 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $168.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.02.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The aircraft producer reported ($5.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.60) by ($4.30). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.47) EPS. Analysts predict that The Boeing Company will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Boeing Company Profile

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services segments.