Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Decreases Stake in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership cut its holdings in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,838 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.13% of Harley-Davidson worth $4,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HOG. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Harley-Davidson by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Harley-Davidson by 172.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 1.7% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 49,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,926,000 after buying an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Harley-Davidson by 84.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Harley-Davidson by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Harley-Davidson

In related news, insider Luke Christopher Mansfield sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.96, for a total value of $88,264.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,487.80. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

Harley-Davidson stock opened at $25.08 on Friday. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.81 and a 1-year high of $43.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 7.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.85.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.65) by ($0.28). Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 9.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio is 21.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Harley-Davidson presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.57.

Harley-Davidson Company Profile

Harley-Davidson, Inc manufactures and sells motorcycles in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, LiveWire, and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company segment designs, manufactures, and sells motorcycles, including cruiser, trike, touring, standard, sportbike, adventure, and dual sport, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, and apparel, as well as licenses its trademarks and related services.