First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its position in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 351,864 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,401 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.66% of Hubbell worth $147,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hubbell by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,634,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,779,212,000 after acquiring an additional 65,033 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,826,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,183,920,000 after purchasing an additional 129,490 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Hubbell by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,510,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $632,704,000 after purchasing an additional 92,954 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Hubbell by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,490,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $624,347,000 after purchasing an additional 27,914 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hubbell by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284,506 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $536,641,000 after purchasing an additional 29,601 shares during the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hubbell Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of HUBB traded up $15.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $361.00. The company had a trading volume of 470,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,168. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $347.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $407.23. Hubbell Incorporated has a 52 week low of $299.42 and a 52 week high of $481.35.

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

Hubbell Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Hubbell's dividend payout ratio is 36.77%.

Hubbell announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hubbell Profile

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.