DF Dent & Co. Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

DF Dent & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 935 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hubbell by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,634,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,779,212,000 after purchasing an additional 65,033 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Hubbell by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,826,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,183,920,000 after acquiring an additional 129,490 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Hubbell by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,092,215 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $896,200,000 after acquiring an additional 22,507 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Hubbell by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,510,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $632,704,000 after acquiring an additional 92,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hubbell by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284,506 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $536,641,000 after purchasing an additional 29,601 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on HUBB. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Hubbell from $422.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Hubbell from $430.00 to $352.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hubbell from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hubbell presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $449.38.

Insider Activity at Hubbell

In other Hubbell news, insider Alyssa R. Flynn sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $389.06, for a total value of $452,865.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,683,462.62. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Hubbell Stock Performance

NYSE HUBB traded up $5.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $323.00. 316,892 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 504,637. 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 company has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.95. Hubbell Incorporated has a 12-month low of $299.43 and a 12-month high of $481.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $361.86 and a 200 day moving average of $413.91.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.69 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hubbell Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Hubbell's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

Hubbell declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hubbell Company 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.