Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 24,486 Shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) by 32.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 99,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,486 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Hubbell were worth $45,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HUBB. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Hubbell by 38.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,253 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $824,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Hubbell by 32.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Hubbell by 0.6% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,225,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hubbell during the second quarter worth about $238,000. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Hubbell by 8.9% during the second quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. 88.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HUBB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $493.00 to $473.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Hubbell from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $385.00 to $454.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Hubbell in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Hubbell from $402.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $472.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mark Eugene Mikes sold 1,144 shares of Hubbell stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $533,332.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,378,553.40. This trade represents a 27.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hubbell Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of Hubbell stock opened at $439.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $452.20 and its 200 day moving average is $408.82. Hubbell Incorporated has a 1 year low of $315.38 and a 1 year high of $481.35.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.47 by $0.02. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 28.81%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Hubbell Incorporated will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from Hubbell’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.04%.

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.