Amundi Raises Stock Holdings in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Amundi lifted its holdings in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 113.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 71,976 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,230 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Harmonic were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Harmonic in the 4th quarter worth $737,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Harmonic in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,292,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Harmonic by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 62,497 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 8,385 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Harmonic by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,057,570 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $13,992,000 after acquiring an additional 20,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in Harmonic by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 409,799 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,422,000 after purchasing an additional 133,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” 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 research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Harmonic currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Insider Activity

In other Harmonic news, CFO Walter Jankovic acquired 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $435,457.76. This represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Krall bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.78 per share, with a total value of $97,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 163,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,932.20. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Harmonic Trading Down 0.6 %

HLIT opened at $10.33 on Thursday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.48. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30 and a beta of 0.87. Harmonic Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.42 and a 52 week high of $15.46.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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.