Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Lowers Stake in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its stake in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 274 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Hubbell were worth $4,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 65 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 17.0% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 6,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hubbell in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hubbell in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 64.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUBB has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Hubbell from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Hubbell from $475.00 to $422.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $493.00 to $473.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hubbell presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $464.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alyssa R. Flynn sold 1,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $389.06, for a total transaction of $452,865.84. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Hubbell Stock Performance

Shares of Hubbell stock opened at $338.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $388.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $419.73. Hubbell Incorporated has a one year low of $330.32 and a one year high of $481.35.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.82% and a return on equity of 28.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.77%.

Hubbell declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Hubbell

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.