Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Stake Lowered by Leeward Investments LLC MA

Leeward Investments LLC MA cut its stake in shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,832,430 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 136,498 shares during the quarter. Harmonic makes up 1.2% of Leeward Investments LLC MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Harmonic were worth $24,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 40.3% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 57,888 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Harmonic during the third quarter worth approximately $833,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Harmonic during the third quarter worth approximately $2,915,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Harmonic by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,675,268 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $38,986,000 after buying an additional 17,665 shares during the period. Finally, Bouvel Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Harmonic during the third quarter worth approximately $1,756,000. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Harmonic Stock Performance

HLIT opened at $10.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Harmonic Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.42 and a 1-year high of $15.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.93.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 5.78%. Research analysts predict that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 15.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan acquired 7,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $75,077.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 347,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,356,241.05. The trade was a 2.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.44 per share, with a total value of $113,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,457.76. The trade was a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 29,780 shares of company stock worth $286,157. Insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HLIT. Raymond James downgraded Harmonic from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Harmonic in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

Harmonic Company Profile

Harmonic Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband solutions worldwide. The company operates through Broadband and Video segments. The Broadband segment sells broadband access solutions and related services, including cOS software-based broadband access solutions to broadband operators; and cOS central cloud services, a subscription service for cOS customers.