Inspire Investing LLC Has $2.08 Million Stock Position in Herbalife Ltd $HLF

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC increased its Herbalife stake by 291.2% in the first quarter, ending with 141,277 shares valued at about $2.08 million.
• Several other institutional investors also made notable moves in HLF, while analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $17.80.
• Herbalife reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $0.64 versus $0.61 expected and revenue of $1.32 billion, up 7.8% year over year; however, insiders have recently sold shares, including major sales by Frank Lamberti and Troy Hicks.

Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF - Free Report) by 291.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,277 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 105,160 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC owned about 0.14% of Herbalife worth $2,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLF. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC grew its stake in Herbalife by 122.2% during the third quarter. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC now owns 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $8,440,000 after buying an additional 550,000 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Herbalife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,550,000. Johnson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 1,156.1% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC now owns 414,500 shares of the company's stock worth $5,343,000 after acquiring an additional 381,500 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Herbalife by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 763,857 shares of the company's stock worth $6,447,000 after acquiring an additional 287,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in Herbalife by 74.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 658,654 shares of the company's stock worth $5,559,000 after acquiring an additional 280,870 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Herbalife from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho set a $17.00 target price on Herbalife in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Herbalife from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Herbalife from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Herbalife from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.80.

Insider Transactions at Herbalife

In related news, insider Frank Lamberti sold 134,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.50, for a total value of $1,822,257.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,624 shares in the company, valued at $494,424. This trade represents a 78.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Troy Hicks sold 38,377 shares of Herbalife stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.93, for a total transaction of $496,214.61. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,062 shares in the company, valued at $117,171.66. The trade was a 80.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,296 shares of company stock worth $2,551,678. Company insiders own 5.13% of the company's stock.

Herbalife Stock Up 2.6%

Herbalife stock opened at $13.12 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $13.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.87. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.88. Herbalife Ltd has a 12-month low of $7.56 and a 12-month high of $20.40.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. Herbalife had a net margin of 4.67% and a negative return on equity of 41.47%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. Herbalife's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Herbalife Ltd will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. NYSE: HLF operates as a global multi-level marketing company specializing in weight-management, nutritional supplement, sports nutrition and personal care products. Its portfolio includes protein shakes, vitamins, energy and fitness supplements, hydration products and skin and hair care items, all formulated to support wellness, performance and healthy living. Products are manufactured in GMP-certified facilities to ensure consistent quality and safety standards.

Founded in 1980 by Mark R.

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