Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) by 230.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,829 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hubbell were worth $22,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Hubbell by 85.7% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 65 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in Hubbell by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 6,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hubbell in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Hubbell by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Hubbell by 69.7% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 88.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HUBB shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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 cut shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Hubbell from $422.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $462.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hubbell Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HUBB opened at $331.68 on Friday. Hubbell Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $330.32 and a fifty-two week high of $481.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $379.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $418.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.94.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Hubbell’s payout ratio is 36.77%.

Hubbell declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.