Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Shares Sold by Trigran Investments Inc.

Trigran Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,979,294 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 696,651 shares during the quarter. Harmonic comprises 7.6% of Trigran Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Trigran Investments Inc. owned 4.27% of Harmonic worth $65,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Harmonic by 5,388.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Harmonic by 14,765.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Harmonic by 84.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Harmonic during the 4th quarter worth $137,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Harmonic during the fourth quarter worth $146,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.38% of the company's stock.

Harmonic Price Performance

HLIT traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.19. 241,570 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,246,164. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Harmonic Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.91 and a twelve month high of $15.46. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.58.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 5.78%. Equities research analysts forecast that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel T. Whalen purchased 3,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction of $30,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,726. This trade represents a 51.37 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Krall acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.78 per share, with a total value of $97,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 163,490 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,932.20. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 in the last three months. 2.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on HLIT shares. Northland Securities decreased their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Harmonic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Harmonic in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Harmonic currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.50.

About Harmonic

Harmonic Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband solutions worldwide. The company operates through Broadband and Video segments. The Broadband segment sells broadband access solutions and related services, including cOS software-based broadband access solutions to broadband operators; and cOS central cloud services, a subscription service for cOS customers.