HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) Shares Sold by Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. trimmed its position in shares of HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI - Free Report) by 55.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,450 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,800 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.'s holdings in HNI were worth $476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HNI. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in HNI by 216.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 93,131 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,015,000 after acquiring an additional 63,724 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in HNI by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 238,465 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,358 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in HNI by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,916 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in HNI during the 4th quarter valued at about $876,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in HNI by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,942 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. 75.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HNI Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of HNI traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.56. The company had a trading volume of 193,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,877. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $43.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.91. HNI Co. has a 1 year low of $39.76 and a 1 year high of $58.42.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $599.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $580.47 million. HNI had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HNI Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This is a boost from HNI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. HNI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded HNI from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Longbow Research initiated coverage on HNI in a report on Friday, May 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna initiated coverage on HNI in a research note on Friday, May 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company.

HNI Company 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.