Sapient Capital LLC Invests $1.04 Million in Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 21,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,278,168 shares of the company's stock worth $350,249,000 after acquiring an additional 623,919 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Hillenbrand by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,754,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,159,000 after buying an additional 50,091 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hillenbrand by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,601,608 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,074,000 after buying an additional 426,077 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Hillenbrand by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,551,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,490,000 after buying an additional 32,595 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Hillenbrand by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,537,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,058,000 after buying an additional 30,899 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.09% of the company's stock.

Hillenbrand Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE HI traded down $0.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.84. The stock had a trading volume of 160,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,946. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.26. Hillenbrand, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.19 and a twelve month high of $53.76.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $773.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $776.40 million. Hillenbrand had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 18.39%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hillenbrand, Inc. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Hillenbrand Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.222 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Hillenbrand's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. CL King assumed coverage on shares of Hillenbrand in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of Hillenbrand from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Monday, December 18th.

Insider Transactions at Hillenbrand

In related news, CEO Kimberly K. Ryan acquired 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $44.94 per share, with a total value of $251,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 133,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,004,163.76. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Kimberly K. Ryan acquired 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $44.94 per share, with a total value of $251,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 133,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,004,163.76. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Nicholas R. Farrell sold 8,542 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.02, for a total value of $401,644.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 41,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,972,536.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

About Hillenbrand

Hillenbrand, Inc operates as an industrial company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Process Solutions and Molding Technology Solutions. The Advanced Process Solutions segment designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, and services process and material handling equipment and systems comprising compounding, extrusion, and material handling equipment, equipment system design services, as well as offers mixing technology, ingredient automation, and portion process; and provides screening and separating equipment for various industries, including plastics, food and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, minerals, energy, wastewater treatment, forest products, and other general industrials.