Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Stock Position in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) by 54.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,052 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,662 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Harley-Davidson were worth $2,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOG. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 917.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 669,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,118,000 after purchasing an additional 603,286 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 47.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,269,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,955,000 after purchasing an additional 410,648 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 4,224.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 319,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,548,000 after purchasing an additional 311,690 shares in the last quarter. JS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. JS Capital Management LLC now owns 892,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,490,000 after purchasing an additional 272,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 56.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 301,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,955,000 after purchasing an additional 108,206 shares in the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Harley-Davidson Stock Down 15.7 %

Shares of NYSE HOG opened at $33.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.90. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.43 and a 1 year high of $44.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $791.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $875.29 million. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 22.00%. Harley-Davidson’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.1725 dividend. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This is a positive change from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Harley-Davidson in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $29.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.14.

Harley-Davidson Company Profile

Harley-Davidson, Inc manufactures and sells motorcycles in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, LiveWire, and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company segment designs, manufactures, and sells motorcycles, including cruiser, trike, touring, standard, sportbike, adventure, and dual sport, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, and apparel, as well as licenses its trademarks and related services.