Philadelphia Trust Co. Acquires 205,585 Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Philadelphia Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) by 49.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 624,390 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 205,585 shares during the quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co. owned about 0.54% of Harmonic worth $8,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HLIT. CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 1,335,941 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $17,674,000 after purchasing an additional 57,046 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Harmonic during the fourth quarter worth about $4,292,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,788,714 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $103,045,000 after buying an additional 1,300,128 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in Harmonic during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Harmonic by 5,388.1% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares during the period. 99.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Northland Securities dropped their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.50.

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In other Harmonic news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan purchased 7,780 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.65 per share, with a total value of $75,077.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 347,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,356,241.05. This trade represents a 2.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic bought 12,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $435,457.76. This represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607. Corporate insiders own 2.36% of the company's stock.

Harmonic Price Performance

HLIT traded up $0.01 on Thursday, reaching $8.89. The company had a trading volume of 306,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,923. Harmonic Inc. has a one year low of $7.91 and a one year high of $15.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.84 and a 200-day moving average of $11.79.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Harmonic announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Harmonic Company Profile

Harmonic Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband solutions worldwide. The company operates through Broadband and Video segments. The Broadband segment sells broadband access solutions and related services, including cOS software-based broadband access solutions to broadband operators; and cOS central cloud services, a subscription service for cOS customers.