Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 65,033 Shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,634,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,033 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Hubbell worth $2,779,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Hubbell by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Hubbell by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,032,000 after buying an additional 15,806 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 229,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $98,187,000 after acquiring an additional 15,215 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Hubbell by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 160,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,503,000 after acquiring an additional 36,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Hubbell in the third quarter valued at $9,985,000. 88.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on HUBB. StockNews.com raised Hubbell from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $493.00 to $473.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hubbell from $475.00 to $422.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $464.88.

Hubbell Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Hubbell stock opened at $354.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.64. Hubbell Incorporated has a 52-week low of $330.32 and a 52-week high of $481.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $385.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $419.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.94.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.82% and a return on equity of 28.62%. The company’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.69 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 EPS for the current year.

Hubbell Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.32 dividend. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.77%.

Hubbell announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Hubbell

In related news, insider Alyssa R. Flynn sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $389.06, for a total value of $452,865.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,683,462.62. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Hubbell Company Profile

Hubbell Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells electrical and utility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Electrical Solutions and Utility Solutions. The Electrical Solution segment offers standard and special application wiring device products, rough-in electrical products, connector and grounding products, lighting fixtures, and other electrical equipment for use in industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities by electrical contractors, maintenance personnel, electricians, utilities, and telecommunications companies, as well as components and assemblies.