American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 435,200 Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,496,579 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 435,200 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Harley-Davidson were worth $105,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,468,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,754,000 after buying an additional 1,285,225 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,470,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,295,000 after acquiring an additional 157,939 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Harley-Davidson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,802,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Harley-Davidson by 38.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 533,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,555,000 after purchasing an additional 148,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 559.4% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 394,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,207,000 after purchasing an additional 334,830 shares during the period. 85.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Harley-Davidson

In other news, insider Luke Christopher Mansfield sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.96, for a total transaction of $88,264.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,487.80. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Harley-Davidson Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE HOG opened at $25.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.58 and a 200 day moving average of $31.11. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.81 and a 1 year high of $44.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.49.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by ($0.28). Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 9.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HOG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Harley-Davidson from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Harley-Davidson from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Harley-Davidson from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.57.

About Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc manufactures and sells motorcycles in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, LiveWire, and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company segment designs, manufactures, and sells motorcycles, including cruiser, trike, touring, standard, sportbike, adventure, and dual sport, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, and apparel, as well as licenses its trademarks and related services.