Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI - Free Report) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 407,197 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,603 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of Hillenbrand worth $12,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hillenbrand in the 4th quarter worth $20,648,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Hillenbrand in the 3rd quarter valued at about $17,178,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hillenbrand in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,782,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Hillenbrand by 211.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 233,645 shares of the company's stock worth $7,192,000 after purchasing an additional 158,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Hillenbrand by 131.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 279,045 shares of the company's stock worth $8,589,000 after purchasing an additional 158,464 shares in the last quarter. 89.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Hillenbrand from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Hillenbrand Stock Performance

NYSE HI traded down $0.02 on Monday, hitting $21.30. 16,430 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 451,439. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $27.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.71. Hillenbrand, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.36 and a 1-year high of $49.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of -6.78 and a beta of 1.46.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. Hillenbrand had a positive return on equity of 15.00% and a negative net margin of 7.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Hillenbrand, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Hillenbrand Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. Hillenbrand's dividend payout ratio is currently -28.66%.

Hillenbrand Company Profile

Hillenbrand, Inc operates as an industrial company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Process Solutions and Molding Technology Solutions. The Advanced Process Solutions segment designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, and services process and material handling equipment and systems comprising compounding, extrusion, and material handling equipment, equipment system design services, as well as offers mixing technology, ingredient automation, and portion process; and provides screening and separating equipment for various industries, including plastics, food and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, minerals, energy, wastewater treatment, forest products, and other general industrials.