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

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,634,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 65,033 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.36% of Hubbell worth $2,779,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Hubbell from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $493.00 to $473.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hubbell presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $464.88.

Insider Activity at Hubbell

In other Hubbell news, insider Alyssa R. Flynn sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 4,327 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,462.62. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hubbell Price Performance

Hubbell stock opened at $354.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $385.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $419.79. Hubbell Incorporated has a 12 month low of $330.32 and a 12 month high of $481.35. The company has a market cap of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

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

Hubbell declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hubbell 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.