Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Has $1.82 Million Stock Position in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC reduced its stake in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) by 28.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,756 shares during the quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Hubbell were worth $1,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hubbell by 192,421.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,975,855 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hubbell by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,826,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,183,920,000 after acquiring an additional 129,490 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hubbell by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,092,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $896,200,000 after acquiring an additional 22,507 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Hubbell by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,417,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $607,176,000 after purchasing an additional 82,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hubbell by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,254,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $535,681,000 after purchasing an additional 8,278 shares in the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hubbell Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE HUBB opened at $355.05 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.94. Hubbell Incorporated has a 52 week low of $337.97 and a 52 week high of $481.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $406.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $423.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Hubbell had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 13.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Hubbell

In related news, insider Alyssa R. Flynn sold 1,164 shares of Hubbell stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 4,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,683,462.62. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUBB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $493.00 to $473.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Hubbell from $475.00 to $422.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hubbell from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $464.88.

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.