Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Purchases Shares of 7,048 Helios Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIO)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Helios Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. nVerses Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Helios Technologies by 200.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Helios Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth $110,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Helios Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $179,000. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new position in shares of Helios Technologies during the third quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Helios Technologies in the second quarter worth about $216,000. 94.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Diana Sacchi sold 615 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.91, for a total transaction of $33,154.65. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,016.76. The trade was a 14.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Helios Technologies Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ HLIO traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.95. 75,248 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 168,305. Helios Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.08 and a 52 week high of $57.29. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $48.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.52. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.97 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 1.54.

Helios Technologies (NASDAQ:HLIO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.05. Helios Technologies had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The business had revenue of $194.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Helios Technologies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Helios Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Helios Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Helios Technologies from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday.

Helios Technologies Company Profile

Helios Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered motion control and electronic control technology solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Hydraulics and Electronics. The Hydraulics segment offers cartridge valve technology products to control rates and direction of fluid flow, and to regulate and control pressures for industrial and mobile applications; hydraulic quick release coupling solutions for the agriculture, construction equipment, and industrial markets; motion control technology and fluid conveyance technology; cartridge valve technology; engineered solutions for machine users, manufacturers, or designers.