State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 27,007 Shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) by 32.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,410 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,007 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Harley-Davidson were worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 95.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. American National Bank bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the 1st quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Harley-Davidson during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. 85.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Harley-Davidson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

Shares of HOG opened at $38.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.78. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.43 and a 52-week high of $44.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.44.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Harley-Davidson had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 11.92%. Harley-Davidson’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.1725 dividend. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is 15.33%.

Harley-Davidson announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 19.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.