Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 39,275 Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) by 363.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,070 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 39,275 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Harmonic were worth $662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Harmonic by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,675,268 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $38,986,000 after acquiring an additional 17,665 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in Harmonic by 15.3% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,659,823 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $24,184,000 after purchasing an additional 219,685 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,208,829 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $17,613,000 after buying an additional 555,737 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,107,668 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $16,139,000 after buying an additional 118,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Harmonic by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,057,570 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $13,992,000 after acquiring an additional 20,841 shares in the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Harmonic Trading Down 9.1 %

HLIT stock traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $8.81. The company had a trading volume of 1,536,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,321,789. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.42 and a 52 week 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $10.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.18.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 expect that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In related news, CFO Walter Jankovic purchased 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel T. Whalen acquired 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,726. This represents a 51.37 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.36% of the company's stock.

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.