Northern Trust Corp Sells 25,029 Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. $HOG

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Harley-Davidson by 2.4%, selling 25,029 shares in the first quarter, now owning 1,038,193 shares valued at approximately $26.2 million.
• Several institutional investors, including American Century Companies Inc. and Donald Smith & CO. Inc., have increased their stakes in Harley-Davidson, showing growing confidence in the company.
• Harley-Davidson declared a $0.18 quarterly dividend, with an annualized yield of 2.5%, indicating its commitment to returning value to shareholders despite mixed performance on earnings.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its stake in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,038,193 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,029 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.85% of Harley-Davidson worth $26,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOG. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 3,514.8% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 976 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 949 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 209.7% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new position in Harley-Davidson during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Financial Harvest LLC purchased a new position in Harley-Davidson during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 153.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HOG. Zacks Research upgraded Harley-Davidson from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Harley-Davidson from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Griffin Securities set a $34.00 price target on Harley-Davidson in a report on Monday, August 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Harley-Davidson news, Director Rafeh Masood acquired 2,068 shares of Harley-Davidson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price 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. This represents a 78.42% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Harley-Davidson Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE HOG traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $30.11. The stock had a trading volume of 535,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,190,721. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.31. The business's fifty day moving average price is $25.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.79. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.45 and a 52-week high of $39.93.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 5.76%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Analysts expect that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Harley-Davidson's payout ratio is 37.31%.

Harley-Davidson Company Profile

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.