Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 263,007 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,684 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Harley-Davidson worth $7,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HOG. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 289.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 5,531 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the third quarter valued at about $294,000. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 28.3% during the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the third quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 14.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. 85.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Harley-Davidson

In other Harley-Davidson news, insider Luke Christopher Mansfield sold 3,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.96, for a total value of $88,264.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,487.80. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Harley-Davidson Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of HOG stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.11. 2,499,635 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,760,048. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $27.66 and its 200-day moving average is $32.24. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.85 and a fifty-two week high of $44.16. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.46.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by ($0.28). Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is an increase from Harley-Davidson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Harley-Davidson's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on HOG. Citigroup decreased their price target on Harley-Davidson from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Harley-Davidson from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.57.

About Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc manufactures and sells motorcycles in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, LiveWire, and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company segment designs, manufactures, and sells motorcycles, including cruiser, trike, touring, standard, sportbike, adventure, and dual sport, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, and apparel, as well as licenses its trademarks and related services.