Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP cut its holdings in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 40.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 610,849 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 408,789 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.52% of Harmonic worth $8,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Harmonic by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 36,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 14.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,671 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Harmonic by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 30,154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 6.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,041 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207 shares during the period. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its position in Harmonic by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 322,353 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,265,000 after buying an additional 2,742 shares during the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Harmonic Stock Performance

NASDAQ HLIT opened at $10.39 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $11.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.49 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.42 and a 1-year high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 5.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on HLIT shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Northland Securities dropped their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $435,457.76. This represents a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Krall purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.78 per share, with a total value of $97,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 163,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,932.20. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 over the last ninety days. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Harmonic Profile

Harmonic Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband solutions worldwide. The company operates through Broadband and Video segments. The Broadband segment sells broadband access solutions and related services, including cOS software-based broadband access solutions to broadband operators; and cOS central cloud services, a subscription service for cOS customers.