Essex Financial Services Inc. Acquires 52 Shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Hubbell were worth $560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Hubbell by 127.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 91 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in Hubbell during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hubbell during the fourth quarter valued at about $91,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Hubbell by 14.3% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HUBB shares. StockNews.com cut Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Hubbell from $400.00 to $384.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their target price on Hubbell from $370.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Hubbell from $435.00 to $397.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Hubbell in a research note on Monday, March 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $427.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $386.57.

Hubbell Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE HUBB opened at $372.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $397.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $344.72. Hubbell Incorporated has a 52-week low of $248.37 and a 52-week high of $429.61.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. Hubbell had a return on equity of 29.55% and a net margin of 13.23%. Hubbell’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Hubbell Incorporated will post 16.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Hubbell’s payout ratio is 36.39%.

Insider Activity at Hubbell

In related news, VP Katherine Anne Lane sold 1,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.51, for a total value of $517,484.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,297,731.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Mark Eugene Mikes sold 397 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.45, for a total transaction of $144,289.65. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,780,541.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Katherine Anne Lane sold 1,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.51, for a total value of $517,484.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,355 shares in the company, valued at $3,297,731.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,747 shares of company stock worth $1,693,364. Company insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

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.