New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Position in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.14% of Hubbell worth $31,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its stake in shares of Hubbell by 3.8% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 596 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Hubbell by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 228 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hubbell by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hubbell by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,422 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,313,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in Hubbell by 5.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 577 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.16% of the company's stock.

Hubbell Stock Performance

Shares of HUBB traded down $9.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $368.20. 916,595 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 629,625. Hubbell Incorporated has a 52-week low of $346.13 and a 52-week high of $481.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $418.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.92.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Hubbell had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 13.82%. Hubbell's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hubbell declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hubbell Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Hubbell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HUBB. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Hubbell in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $535.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Hubbell from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $493.00 to $473.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Hubbell from $407.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Hubbell from $402.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $471.50.

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.