Ameriprise Financial Inc. Raises Stock Position in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF - Free Report) by 218.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 812,692 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 557,518 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.81% of Herbalife worth $5,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 83.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,884 shares of the company's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 8,591 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 59,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 3,458 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Herbalife by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 44,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Avaii Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Herbalife by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,634 shares of the company's stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 19,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Herbalife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herbalife

In other news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 5,000 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.73 per share, with a total value of $33,650.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 140,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $942,200. This trade represents a 3.70% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 17,500 shares of company stock valued at $128,650. Company insiders own 1.73% of the company's stock.

Herbalife Price Performance

NYSE:HLF traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $7.64. 3,069,431 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,254,063. The firm has a market cap of $777.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.07, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.19. Herbalife Ltd. has a 52-week low of $5.04 and a 52-week high of $12.79.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 20.78% and a net margin of 5.09%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Herbalife from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson upgraded Herbalife from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $7.50 to $14.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Herbalife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.50.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Ltd. provides health and wellness products in North America, Mexico, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and the Asia Pacific. It offers products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; outer nutrition; and literature and promotional items.