Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,070 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,280 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of Harmonic worth $1,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HLIT. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 14,765.9% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 6,054 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,888 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic in the 4th quarter worth about $137,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Harmonic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $146,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Harmonic during the 3rd quarter valued at $166,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Harmonic Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ HLIT opened at $9.59 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $10.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.42 and a 12 month high of $15.46. 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 (NASDAQ:HLIT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. Harmonic had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 15.90%. As a group, research analysts predict that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to repurchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on HLIT. Barclays decreased their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities lowered their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.