Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in Herbalife Ltd by 3.4%, selling 29,197 shares and now holding approximately 0.81% of the company, valued at $7.15 million.
• Large investors such as Vanguard Group Inc. and Renaissance Technologies LLC have increased their stakes in Herbalife, indicating a positive shift in investor sentiment.
• Analysts have upgraded Herbalife's rating from "buy" to "strong-buy," with a consensus price target of $11.50, suggesting bullish expectations for the company's stock performance.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lessened its stake in Herbalife Ltd (NYSE:HLF - Free Report) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 829,004 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,197 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.81% of Herbalife worth $7,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Herbalife by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,271,417 shares of the company's stock worth $75,406,000 after acquiring an additional 785,574 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 7,088,868 shares of the company's stock worth $47,425,000 after buying an additional 638,567 shares during the last quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herbalife by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,758,127 shares of the company's stock worth $31,832,000 after buying an additional 1,020,127 shares during the last quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 10.7% during the first quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 2,775,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,952,000 after purchasing an additional 267,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Herbalife by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,680,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,936,000 after purchasing an additional 64,911 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HLF. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Herbalife from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Herbalife from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Herbalife from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $11.50.

Insider Transactions at Herbalife

In other news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.75 per share, with a total value of $33,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 166,857 shares in the company, valued at $1,126,284.75. This trade represents a 3.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.73% of the company's stock.

Herbalife Trading Down 6.6%

NYSE HLF traded down $0.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $8.64. 3,220,650 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,180,740. Herbalife Ltd has a fifty-two week low of $5.04 and a fifty-two week high of $10.83. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $8.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $879.47 million, a PE ratio of 3.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.85.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.06. Herbalife had a negative return on equity of 23.75% and a net margin of 5.66%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Herbalife Ltd will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Ltd. provides health and wellness products in North America, Mexico, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and the Asia Pacific. It offers products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; outer nutrition; and literature and promotional items.