Swiss National Bank Acquires 3,100 Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)

Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 198,172 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Herbalife were worth $1,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Herbalife by 110.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 5,524 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Herbalife in the fourth quarter valued at about $124,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Herbalife by 83.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 8,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Herbalife by 63.7% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 24,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 9,513 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Herbalife from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. DA Davidson upgraded Herbalife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $7.50 to $14.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Herbalife currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Herbalife Price Performance

Herbalife stock opened at $8.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.24. The company has a market cap of $867.28 million, a PE ratio of 3.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.03. Herbalife Ltd. has a 1-year low of $5.04 and a 1-year high of $12.79.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Herbalife had a net margin of 5.09% and a negative return on equity of 20.78%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Herbalife Ltd. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Juan Miguel Mendoza acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.25 per share, with a total value of $41,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 132,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,125. The trade was a 3.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.73% of the company’s stock.

About Herbalife

Herbalife Ltd. provides health and wellness products in North America, Mexico, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and the Asia Pacific. It offers products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; outer nutrition; and literature and promotional items.