Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stock Position in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 281,267 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 65,821 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.52% of Hubbell worth $117,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in Hubbell by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 65 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hubbell in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hubbell by 69.7% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hubbell in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 88.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hubbell Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of HUBB traded down $3.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $342.83. The company had a trading volume of 106,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 691,311. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $354.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $410.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.64. Hubbell Incorporated has a 1 year low of $299.42 and a 1 year high of $481.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.95.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.82% and a return on equity of 28.62%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 EPS for the current year.

Hubbell announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Hubbell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.77%.

Insider Transactions at Hubbell

In related news, insider Alyssa R. Flynn sold 1,164 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $389.06, for a total value of $452,865.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,683,462.62. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUBB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Hubbell from $430.00 to $352.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hubbell from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $422.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $449.38.

About Hubbell

Hubbell Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells electrical and utility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Electrical Solutions and Utility Solutions. The Electrical Solution segment offers standard and special application wiring device products, rough-in electrical products, connector and grounding products, lighting fixtures, and other electrical equipment for use in industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities by electrical contractors, maintenance personnel, electricians, utilities, and telecommunications companies, as well as components and assemblies.