JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 371,714 Shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,434,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 371,714 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Hubbell were worth $601,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Hubbell by 85.7% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 65 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Hubbell by 17.0% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 6,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hubbell during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Hubbell by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hubbell by 69.7% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HUBB shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Hubbell from $422.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hubbell has an average 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 firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,683,462.62. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Hubbell Stock Performance

Hubbell stock opened at $331.68 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $330.32 and a twelve month high of $481.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $379.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $418.41. The company has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

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

Hubbell announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.