BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 9,865 Shares of HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its holdings in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI - Free Report) by 46.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,540 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,865 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in HNI were worth $581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in HNI by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 34,509 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,738,000 after buying an additional 6,497 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HNI by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,718,014 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $288,016,000 after purchasing an additional 62,476 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HNI by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 250,181 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,602,000 after purchasing an additional 11,716 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of HNI by 20.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of HNI by 206.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 26,167 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 17,631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.26% of the company's stock.

HNI Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of HNI stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $46.80. 168,672 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 308,593. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $44.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.09. HNI Co. has a 1-year low of $39.76 and a 1-year high of $58.42. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.09. HNI had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 5.52%. The company had revenue of $599.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.47 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that HNI Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HNI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from HNI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. HNI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HNI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna initiated coverage on HNI in a report on Friday, May 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised HNI from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Longbow Research initiated coverage on HNI in a research note on Friday, May 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock.

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.