Walter Public Investments Inc. Acquires 4,584 Shares of Hubbell Inc (NYSE:HUBB)

Walter Public Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Hubbell Inc (NYSE:HUBB - Free Report) by 33.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,484 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 4,584 shares during the quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings in Hubbell were worth $6,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HUBB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hubbell by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,634,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,779,212,000 after acquiring an additional 65,033 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 0.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,833,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $937,623,000 after acquiring an additional 7,142 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,510,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $632,704,000 after acquiring an additional 92,954 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,490,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $624,347,000 after acquiring an additional 27,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hubbell by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284,506 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $536,641,000 after buying an additional 29,601 shares in the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUBB has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Hubbell from $352.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hubbell from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Hubbell from $400.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $420.00 price objective on Hubbell and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $455.50.

Hubbell Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HUBB traded up $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $412.57. 98,327 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 531,544. Hubbell Inc has a 52-week low of $299.43 and a 52-week high of $481.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $388.80 and a 200-day moving average of $383.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.99.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by ($0.23). Hubbell had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 27.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Hubbell Inc will post 17.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Hubbell's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gerben Bakker sold 7,723 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.63, for a total transaction of $2,970,497.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 82,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,578,507.63. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos M. Cardoso sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.29, for a total value of $154,516.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,727 shares in the company, valued at $667,122.83. This trade represents a 18.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Hubbell

Hubbell Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells electrical and utility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Electrical Solutions and Utility Solutions. The Electrical Solution segment offers standard and special application wiring device products, rough-in electrical products, connector and grounding products, lighting fixtures, and other electrical equipment for use in industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities by electrical contractors, maintenance personnel, electricians, utilities, and telecommunications companies, as well as components and assemblies.