Barclays PLC Buys 48,230 Shares of Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI)

Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI - Free Report) by 17.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 318,078 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,230 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.45% of Hillenbrand worth $8,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Hillenbrand by 13.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,184,077 shares of the company's stock worth $87,408,000 after acquiring an additional 253,730 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Hillenbrand during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,368,000. Bernzott Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 225,753 shares of the company's stock worth $6,276,000 after purchasing an additional 76,533 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its position in Hillenbrand by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 322,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 74,527 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Hillenbrand by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,873,289 shares of the company's stock worth $79,877,000 after buying an additional 66,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.09% of the company's stock.

Hillenbrand Stock Performance

NYSE:HI traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.63. The stock had a trading volume of 391,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,666. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Hillenbrand, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.11 and a 1-year high of $50.58. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $30.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.91 and a beta of 1.43.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.08. Hillenbrand had a negative net margin of 6.63% and a positive return on equity of 14.86%. The business had revenue of $837.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $793.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Hillenbrand's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hillenbrand, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Hillenbrand's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Hillenbrand's payout ratio is currently -30.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Hillenbrand from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised Hillenbrand from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Hillenbrand in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $44.67.

Hillenbrand 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.