Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 66,194 Shares of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. (NYSE:HY)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. (NYSE:HY) by 2,033.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,194 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling worth $4,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling during the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling during the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling during the fourth quarter valued at $151,000. 46.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Northland Capmk upgraded Hyster-Yale Materials Handling from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded Hyster-Yale Materials Handling from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Price Performance

NYSE:HY traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $79.77. The stock had a trading volume of 11,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 98,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.25. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.50 and a 52 week high of $81.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $72.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 1.35.

Hyster-Yale Materials Handling (NYSE:HY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling had a return on equity of 42.94% and a net margin of 3.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Hyster-Yale Materials Handling’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.22%.

About Hyster-Yale Materials Handling

Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, sells, and services a line of lift trucks, attachments, and aftermarket parts worldwide. The company manufactures components, such as frames, masts, and transmissions; and assembles lift trucks. It markets its products primarily under the Hyster and Yale brand names to independent Hyster and Yale retail dealerships.