Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 14,298 Shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its holdings in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 562,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 14,298 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Hubbell were worth $235,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hubbell by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Hubbell by 7.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 15,215 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 160,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,503,000 after acquiring an additional 36,643 shares during the period. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Hubbell in the 3rd quarter worth $9,985,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on HUBB. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Hubbell from $422.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hubbell currently has a consensus 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 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 sale, the insider now owns 4,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hubbell Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE HUBB opened at $346.54 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $383.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $419.27. 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 firm has a market cap of $18.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.94. Hubbell Incorporated has a 52 week low of $330.32 and a 52 week high of $481.35.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Hubbell had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 13.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

Hubbell announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.