Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 235,188 Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,063,328 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 235,188 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.49% of Harmonic worth $146,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HLIT. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Harmonic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,292,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Harmonic by 128.3% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 441,356 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $5,839,000 after buying an additional 248,046 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Harmonic in the 4th quarter worth $2,299,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 414.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 201,976 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,944,000 after buying an additional 162,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 2,191.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 152,401 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,220,000 after acquiring an additional 145,751 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company's stock.

Harmonic Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Harmonic stock traded up $0.17 on Friday, hitting $8.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,108,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,282,384. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $9.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.89. Harmonic Inc. has a one year low of $7.91 and a one year high of $15.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 0.92.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Harmonic declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the communications equipment provider to buy up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan acquired 7,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $75,077.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,356,241.05. This represents a 2.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,457.76. This represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on HLIT. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Harmonic in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Profile

Harmonic Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband solutions worldwide. The company operates through Broadband and Video segments. The Broadband segment sells broadband access solutions and related services, including cOS software-based broadband access solutions to broadband operators; and cOS central cloud services, a subscription service for cOS customers.