Prudential PLC Grows Stake in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB - Free Report) by 45.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,082 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 7,846 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Hubbell were worth $10,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HUBB. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Hubbell by 14.6% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in Hubbell in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $426,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Hubbell by 11.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,007 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,001,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its position in Hubbell by 50.7% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 1,784 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Hubbell by 165.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,980 shares in the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Hubbell from $422.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Hubbell from $430.00 to $352.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Hubbell from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hubbell currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $449.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alyssa R. Flynn sold 1,164 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 4,327 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,462.62. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company's stock.

Hubbell Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of HUBB stock traded down $10.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $341.42. 379,745 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 508,458. Hubbell Incorporated has a 1 year low of $299.43 and a 1 year high of $481.35. The firm has a market cap of $18.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50 day moving average is $358.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $412.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.69 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 EPS for the current year.

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Hubbell's dividend payout ratio is 36.77%.

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

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.