HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI - Free Report) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,722,641 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 349,987 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 3.60% of HNI worth $86,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HNI. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in HNI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,253,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of HNI by 275.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,836,205 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $98,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,999 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in HNI during the fourth quarter valued at $7,076,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in HNI by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 628,272 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,646,000 after purchasing an additional 105,034 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of HNI by 216.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 93,131 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,015,000 after buying an additional 63,724 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at HNI

In related news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total value of $27,744.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $718,260.60. This represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.37% of the company's stock.

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HNI Price Performance

HNI traded down $0.65 during trading on Monday, reaching $41.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 179,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 365,501. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.53. The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. HNI Co. has a 1 year low of $40.53 and a 1 year high of $58.42.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.13. HNI had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 5.52%. The company had revenue of $642.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $657.03 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that HNI Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. HNI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded HNI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

HNI Company Profile

HNI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, sale, and marketing of workplace furnishings and residential building products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Workplace Furnishings and Residential Building Products. The Workplace Furnishings segment offers a range of commercial and home office furniture, including panel-based and freestanding furniture systems, seating, storage, benching, tables, architectural products, and ancillary and hospitality products, as well as social collaborative items under the HON, Allsteel, Beyond, Gunlocke, HBF, HBF Textiles, HNI India, Kimball, National, Etc., Interwoven, David Edward, Kimball Hospitality, and D'style brands.