Cerity Partners LLC Invests $8.90 Million in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 176,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,897,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in HNI in the fourth quarter worth about $69,253,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in HNI during the 4th quarter valued at $7,076,000. FMR LLC increased its position in HNI by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,960,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,755,000 after acquiring an additional 124,391 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of HNI by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 628,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,646,000 after purchasing an additional 105,034 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of HNI by 216.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 93,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,015,000 after acquiring an additional 63,724 shares during the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total transaction of $27,744.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,260.60. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HNI Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HNI opened at $41.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.10. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.78. HNI Co. has a 12 month low of $39.76 and a 12 month high of $58.42.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $642.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $657.03 million. HNI had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 5.52%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that HNI Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. HNI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of HNI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

HNI Profile

HNI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, sale, and marketing of workplace furnishings and residential building products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Workplace Furnishings and Residential Building Products. The Workplace Furnishings segment offers a range of commercial and home office furniture, including panel-based and freestanding furniture systems, seating, storage, benching, tables, architectural products, and ancillary and hospitality products, as well as social collaborative items under the HON, Allsteel, Beyond, Gunlocke, HBF, HBF Textiles, HNI India, Kimball, National, Etc., Interwoven, David Edward, Kimball Hospitality, and D'style brands.