Bank of America Corp DE Sells 192,817 Shares of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its position in The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN - Free Report) by 41.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 277,742 shares of the company's stock after selling 192,817 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.31% of The Hain Celestial Group worth $1,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sageworth Trust Co acquired a new position in The Hain Celestial Group in the 4th quarter worth $234,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in The Hain Celestial Group by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,805 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 3,554 shares during the period. Grace & White Inc. NY acquired a new position in The Hain Celestial Group in the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in The Hain Celestial Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 289,050 shares of the company's stock worth $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 7,313 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in The Hain Celestial Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 437,354 shares of the company's stock worth $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 13,849 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HAIN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Maxim Group reduced their target price on shares of The Hain Celestial Group from $10.00 to $5.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of The Hain Celestial Group from $4.00 to $2.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of The Hain Celestial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $1.50 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of The Hain Celestial Group from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, CL King restated a "neutral" rating on shares of The Hain Celestial Group in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $3.64.

The Hain Celestial Group Stock Performance

Shares of HAIN stock traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $1.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,268,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,763,189. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm's 50-day moving average is $2.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.91 and a beta of 0.84. The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1.30 and a 12 month high of $9.43.

The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ:HAIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $390.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $414.45 million. The Hain Celestial Group had a negative net margin of 10.51% and a positive return on equity of 2.88%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dawn M. Zier purchased 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.60 per share, with a total value of $320,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 288,229 shares in the company, valued at $461,166.40. The trade was a 226.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Neil Campbell purchased 25,640 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.93 per share, for a total transaction of $49,485.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 62,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,452.97. This trade represents a 68.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 308,640 shares of company stock valued at $518,055. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Hain Celestial Group Profile

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc manufactures, markets, and sells organic and natural products in United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and internationally. It operates through two segments: North America and International. The company offers infant formula; infant, toddler, and kids' food; plant-based beverages and frozen desserts, such as soy, rice, oat, and spelt; and condiments.