Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 19,504 Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,514 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,504 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.08% of Harley-Davidson worth $2,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HOG. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 289.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 5,531 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson in the 3rd quarter worth about $294,000. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Harley-Davidson by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 1,851 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Harley-Davidson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

Shares of Harley-Davidson stock opened at $26.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.12 and its 200 day moving average is $32.58. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a one year low of $25.25 and a one year high of $44.16.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.93) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. This is an increase from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is currently 21.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Luke Christopher Mansfield sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 23,555 shares in the company, valued at $611,487.80. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HOG. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Harley-Davidson from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Harley-Davidson currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.57.

About Harley-Davidson

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.