Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) is Trigran Investments Inc.'s 6th Largest Position

Trigran Investments Inc. lessened its stake in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,979,294 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 696,651 shares during the period. Harmonic makes up about 7.6% of Trigran Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Trigran Investments Inc. owned 4.27% of Harmonic worth $65,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Harmonic by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,934,000 after buying an additional 57,888 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,675,268 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $38,986,000 after acquiring an additional 17,665 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 113.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 71,976 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 38,230 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Harmonic in the 4th quarter valued at $4,292,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,041 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Harmonic news, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $435,457.76. This trade represents a 35.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,726. This represents a 51.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 in the last three months. 2.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Harmonic Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ HLIT traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $9.07. 978,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,251,845. Harmonic Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.91 and a 12-month high of $15.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.18.

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

Harmonic announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLIT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Northland Securities lowered their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Company 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.