Norges Bank Buys Shares of 466,037 Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 466,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $195,218,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Hubbell during the fourth quarter worth about $63,647,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Hubbell by 4.8% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 129,490 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hubbell in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,533,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Hubbell by 9,720.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 74,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,018,000 after buying an additional 73,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hubbell by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,634,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,779,212,000 after buying an additional 65,033 shares during the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hubbell Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of HUBB stock opened at $331.68 on Monday. Hubbell Incorporated has a 1-year low of $330.00 and a 1-year high of $481.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $379.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $418.86. The firm has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

Hubbell declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUBB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hubbell from $422.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hubbell presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $462.13.

Insider Transactions at Hubbell

In related news, insider Alyssa R. Flynn sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $389.06, for a total transaction of $452,865.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,683,462.62. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Hubbell Company 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.