Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 64,911 Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,680,425 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 64,911 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.66% of Herbalife worth $17,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HLF. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Herbalife by 589.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 75,353 shares of the company's stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 64,416 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Herbalife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $482,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 413,065 shares of the company's stock worth $2,743,000 after acquiring an additional 87,337 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Herbalife by 777.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,987,490 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,986,000 after acquiring an additional 2,646,848 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in Herbalife by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 480,926 shares of the company's stock worth $3,217,000 after purchasing an additional 37,139 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Herbalife from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. DA Davidson upgraded Herbalife from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $7.50 to $14.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Herbalife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.00.

Herbalife Price Performance

Herbalife stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.72. 1,295,319 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,234,039. Herbalife Ltd. has a 12 month low of $5.04 and a 12 month high of $12.79. The firm has a market cap of $680.50 million, a PE ratio of 2.70, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.26.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 20.78%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Herbalife

In related news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.25 per share, for a total transaction of $41,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 132,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,125. This trade represents a 3.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Ltd. provides health and wellness products in North America, Mexico, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and the Asia Pacific. It offers products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; outer nutrition; and literature and promotional items.