Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New $5.29 Million Investment in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 12,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,288,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Hubbell by 192,421.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,980,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,418,233,000 after purchasing an additional 7,975,855 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Hubbell by 42,735.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,919,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,223,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915,383 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in Hubbell by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,202,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $514,377,000 after purchasing an additional 279,654 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Hubbell by 268.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 231,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,005,000 after buying an additional 168,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGT Capital Partners LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Hubbell in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,687,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.16% of the company’s stock.

Hubbell Stock Performance

NYSE:HUBB opened at $433.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $443.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $416.47. Hubbell Incorporated has a twelve month low of $319.06 and a twelve month high of $481.35.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.02. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 28.81%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Hubbell Incorporated will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $1.32 dividend. This is an increase from Hubbell’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HUBB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Hubbell from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Hubbell from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $385.00 to $454.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $450.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hubbell from $402.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $493.00 to $473.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $471.50.

Insider Activity at Hubbell

In related news, insider Mark Eugene Mikes sold 1,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $533,332.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,378,553.40. This represents a 27.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

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.