Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $9.22 Million Holdings in Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI - Free Report) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 331,603 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,531 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Hillenbrand worth $9,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hillenbrand during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $755,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,702,418 shares of the company's stock worth $437,645,000 after purchasing an additional 290,275 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hillenbrand in the 1st quarter worth about $3,285,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Hillenbrand by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 392,196 shares of the company's stock worth $15,696,000 after buying an additional 16,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hillenbrand in the 1st quarter valued at about $281,000. 89.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hillenbrand Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of HI stock traded down $0.47 on Tuesday, reaching $31.77. 129,582 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 390,700. The business's 50 day moving average price is $28.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.94. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.55 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.27. Hillenbrand, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.11 and a 12-month high of $50.58.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $837.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $793.38 million. Hillenbrand had a negative net margin of 6.63% and a positive return on equity of 14.86%. The firm's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hillenbrand, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.2225 per share. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. This is a positive change from Hillenbrand's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Hillenbrand's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -29.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on HI shares. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Hillenbrand from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Hillenbrand in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Hillenbrand from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.