American Century Companies Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 142,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,530 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.27% of Hubbell worth $59,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 65 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 17.0% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 6,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hubbell in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Hubbell by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Hubbell by 69.7% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hubbell Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:HUBB opened at $354.28 on Wednesday. Hubbell Incorporated has a 52-week low of $330.32 and a 52-week high of $481.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $385.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $419.79. The company has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.94.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.82% and a return on equity of 28.62%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $1.32 dividend. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Hubbell’s payout ratio is 36.77%.

Hubbell announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HUBB. StockNews.com raised Hubbell from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on Hubbell from $475.00 to $422.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $493.00 to $473.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $464.88.

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 sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

About Hubbell

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.