Flputnam Investment Management Co. Lowers Stake in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB - Free Report) by 50.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,046 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,057 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Hubbell were worth $857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 192,421.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,980,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,418,233,000 after purchasing an additional 7,975,855 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,826,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,183,920,000 after acquiring an additional 129,490 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Hubbell by 1.1% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,417,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $607,176,000 after acquiring an additional 82,258 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hubbell by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,254,905 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $535,681,000 after purchasing an additional 8,278 shares during the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HUBB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Hubbell from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $493.00 to $473.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Hubbell in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $535.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on Hubbell from $475.00 to $422.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised Hubbell from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $464.88.

Hubbell Price Performance

Hubbell stock traded down $17.38 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $354.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 724,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,683. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.64. Hubbell Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $346.13 and a fifty-two week high of $481.35. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $413.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $424.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.92.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.82% and a return on equity of 28.62%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $1.32 dividend. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Hubbell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.77%.

Hubbell announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Hubbell 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 value of $452,865.84. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,683,462.62. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

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.