ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 19,696 Shares of HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 19,696 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in HNI were worth $8,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HNI. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in HNI in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HNI in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in HNI in the 4th quarter worth about $134,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in HNI in the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in HNI in the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. 75.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HNI Stock Performance

NYSE:HNI traded up $0.36 on Wednesday, hitting $49.14. The stock had a trading volume of 204,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,371. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.52. HNI Co. has a 52-week low of $27.71 and a 52-week high of $49.67.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.19. HNI had a return on equity of 17.75% and a net margin of 2.57%. The business had revenue of $588.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.56 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that HNI Co. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

HNI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from HNI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. HNI’s payout ratio is presently 97.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Donna D. Meade sold 10,000 shares of HNI stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total transaction of $459,700.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,485,198.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Steven M. Bradford sold 11,237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total value of $543,308.95. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 61,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,390.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donna D. Meade sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total value of $459,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,308 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,198.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,966 shares of company stock valued at $1,685,119 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Benchmark raised their target price on HNI from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th.

HNI Company Profile

HNI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, sale, and marketing of workplace furnishings and residential building products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Workplace Furnishings and Residential Building Products. The Workplace Furnishings segment offers a range of commercial and home office furniture, including panel-based and freestanding furniture systems, seating, storage, benching, tables, architectural products, and ancillary and hospitality products, as well as social collaborative items under the HON, Allsteel, Beyond, Gunlocke, HBF, HBF Textiles, HNI India, Kimball, National, Etc., Interwoven, David Edward, Kimball Hospitality, and D'style brands.