Dean Investment Associates LLC Cuts Stake in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Dean Investment Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 142,256 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 22,717 shares during the quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC owned 0.12% of Harmonic worth $1,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Harmonic by 5,388.1% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,543 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 5,442 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Harmonic by 84.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,295 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic in the fourth quarter valued at $137,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Harmonic during the 4th quarter valued at $146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

Harmonic Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:HLIT opened at $8.90 on Friday. Harmonic Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.91 and a 52 week high of $15.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.79.

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

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

Insider Activity at Harmonic

In related news, Director Daniel T. Whalen bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.15 per share, for a total transaction of $30,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,726. The trade was a 51.37 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,457.76. This trade represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLIT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Northland Securities cut their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

About Harmonic

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.