Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI - Free Report) by 12.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,600 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 13,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.22% of Armstrong World Industries worth $7,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Armstrong World Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $35,536,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Armstrong World Industries by 103.1% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 13,456 shares of the construction company's stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 450,050 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Armstrong World Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $30,725,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Armstrong World Industries by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,773,996 shares of the construction company's stock worth $126,379,000 after buying an additional 360,508 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Armstrong World Industries by 3,174.5% during the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 293,425 shares of the construction company's stock worth $26,411,000 after buying an additional 284,464 shares during the period. 99.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Several research firms have issued reports on AWI. StockNews.com began coverage on Armstrong World Industries in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. TheStreet upgraded Armstrong World Industries from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Armstrong World Industries from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on Armstrong World Industries from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Armstrong World Industries from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.13.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Armstrong World Industries

NYSE:AWI opened at $73.65 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $74.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.88. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.03 and a 52 week high of $90.98. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $325.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $335.43 million. Armstrong World Industries had a return on equity of 41.52% and a net margin of 16.90%. The company's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Armstrong World Industries, Inc. will post 4.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.254 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Armstrong World Industries's payout ratio is currently 21.70%.

Armstrong World Industries, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells ceiling and wall systems in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Mineral Fiber and Architectural Specialties segments. The company offers suspended mineral fiber, soft fiber, fiberglass wool, and metal ceiling systems, as well as wood, wood fiber, glass-reinforced-gypsum, and felt ceiling and wall products; ceiling component products, such as ceiling perimeters and trims, as well as grid products that support drywall ceiling systems; ceilings and walls for use in commercial settings; and facade and partition products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

Before you consider Armstrong World Industries, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Armstrong World Industries wasn't on the list.

While Armstrong World Industries currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

MarketBeat just released its list of 10 cheap stocks that have been overlooked by the market and may be seriously undervalued. Click the link below to see which companies made the list.

Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools:

View the latest news, buy/sell ratings, SEC filings and insider transactions for your stocks. Compare your portfolio performance to leading indices and get personalized stock ideas based on your portfolio.

Get daily stock ideas from top-performing Wall Street analysts. Get short term trading ideas from the MarketBeat Idea Engine. View which stocks are hot on social media with MarketBeat's trending stocks report.

Identify stocks that meet your criteria using seven unique stock screeners. See what's happening in the market right now with MarketBeat's real-time news feed. Export data to Excel for your own analysis.