Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Stake in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 324,391 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,292,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.28% of Harmonic as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Harmonic by 5,388.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 5,442 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 6,054 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Harmonic by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Harmonic during the fourth quarter worth $137,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Harmonic during the fourth quarter worth $146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,726. This trade represents a 51.37 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Krall bought 10,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 163,490 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,932.20. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 over the last three months. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities reduced their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ HLIT opened at $9.21 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $9.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.54. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91 and a beta of 0.92. Harmonic Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.91 and a 12-month high of $15.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

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

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Harmonic

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.

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