Marshall Wace LLP Has $24.58 Million Holdings in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) by 182.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,006,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,233,116 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $24,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,220,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,453,000 after purchasing an additional 502,094 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Hecla Mining during the fourth quarter worth about $1,640,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,189,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,570,000 after acquiring an additional 707,712 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hecla Mining by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,393,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $301,440,000 after acquiring an additional 774,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 76,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 50,969 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hecla Mining Price Performance

NYSE:HL opened at $5.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 116.12 and a beta of 1.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Hecla Mining has a 12 month low of $4.41 and a 12 month high of $7.68.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.01). Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 3.10% and a net margin of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $249.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.21 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hecla Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.0038 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Hecla Mining’s dividend payout ratio is 20.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Michael L. Clary sold 32,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $167,764.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 246,440 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,559.20. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Krcmarov purchased 6,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.29 per share, for a total transaction of $34,755.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 331,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,755,518.24. The trade was a 2.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,915 shares of company stock worth $300,000 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Hecla Mining from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. TD Securities lowered shares of Hecla Mining from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on shares of Hecla Mining from $6.60 to $6.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price objective on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Hecla Mining to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.75.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides precious and base metal properties in the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, and China. The company mines for silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates, as well as carbon material containing silver and gold for custom smelters, metal traders, and third-party processors; and doré containing silver and gold.