Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 414,791 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the previous session’s volume of 742,412 shares.The stock last traded at $151.63 and had previously closed at $154.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Booz Allen Hamilton from $142.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $174.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Booz Allen Hamilton from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.63.

Booz Allen Hamilton Trading Down 3.4 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.58.

Booz Allen Hamilton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Booz Allen Hamilton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew Calderone sold 4,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $670,725.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,618 shares in the company, valued at $4,886,970. This represents a 12.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Crowe sold 4,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $700,095.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,206,840. The trade was a 14.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,173 shares of company stock valued at $1,989,220. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booz Allen Hamilton

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BAH. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Booz Allen Hamilton by 142.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,248,000 after buying an additional 16,815 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in Booz Allen Hamilton by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 149,998 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,266,000 after acquiring an additional 4,264 shares during the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its holdings in Booz Allen Hamilton by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 51,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,411,000 after buying an additional 14,620 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton in the 1st quarter valued at $955,000. Finally, Natixis acquired a new position in Booz Allen Hamilton in the 1st quarter valued at about $893,000. 91.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Booz Allen Hamilton Company Profile

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation provides management and technology consulting, analytics, engineering, digital solutions, mission operations, and cyber services to governments, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations in the United States and internationally. It focuses on artificial intelligence services comprising of machine learning, predictive modeling, automation and decision analytics, and quantum computing.