Northern Trust Corp Grows Position in Helios Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIO)

Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Helios Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIO - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 322,472 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,718 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.97% of Helios Technologies worth $14,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Helios Technologies by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 687 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Helios Technologies by 148.8% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 3,732 shares of the company's stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 2,232 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Helios Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Helios Technologies by 321.2% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,705 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 5,113 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Helios Technologies by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,765 shares of the company's stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.72% of the company's stock.

Helios Technologies Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:HLIO traded up $0.05 on Monday, hitting $32.71. 348,918 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 214,227. Helios Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.76 and a 52 week high of $57.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.46. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95 and a beta of 1.22.

Helios Technologies (NASDAQ:HLIO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.08. Helios Technologies had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 4.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Helios Technologies's quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Helios Technologies, Inc. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Helios Technologies announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Helios Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Helios Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Helios Technologies from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Helios Technologies from $65.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

About Helios Technologies

Helios Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides engineered motion control and electronic control technology solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Hydraulics and Electronics. The Hydraulics segment offers cartridge valve technology products to control rates and direction of fluid flow, and to regulate and control pressures for industrial and mobile applications; hydraulic quick release coupling solutions for the agriculture, construction equipment, and industrial markets; motion control technology and fluid conveyance technology; cartridge valve technology; engineered solutions for machine users, manufacturers, or designers.