Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Harley-Davidson, Inc. $HOG

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Harley-Davidson, Inc. by 23.0%, selling 80,861 shares and now holding a total of 270,109 shares valued at approximately $6.82 million.
• Harley-Davidson announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.4%, payable on September 24th to shareholders on record as of September 10th.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a 19.3% decrease in revenue compared to the previous year, with a reported EPS of $0.88, missing analysts' expectations of $0.99.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG - Free Report) by 23.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 270,109 shares of the company's stock after selling 80,861 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Harley-Davidson worth $6,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 3,514.8% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 976 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 209.7% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Harley-Davidson during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Harvest LLC bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 153.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,306 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company's stock.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

HOG stock traded down $1.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $28.75. 523,515 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,157,463. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $26.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.31. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.45 and a 1 year high of $39.87.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.11). Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 5.76% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. Harley-Davidson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Harley-Davidson from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research raised Harley-Davidson from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Harley-Davidson from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Griffin Securities set a $34.00 price objective on Harley-Davidson in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Harley-Davidson from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rafeh Masood purchased 2,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.06 per share, with a total value of $49,756.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $113,202.30. The trade was a 78.42% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc manufactures and sells motorcycles in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, LiveWire, and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company segment designs, manufactures, and sells motorcycles, including cruiser, trike, touring, standard, sportbike, adventure, and dual sport, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, and apparel, as well as licenses its trademarks and related services.