Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Stake in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 216,648 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,130 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Harley-Davidson worth $6,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 172.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 1.7% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 49,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 84.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Luke Christopher Mansfield sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.96, for a total value of $88,264.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,487.80. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on HOG. Citigroup lowered their target price on Harley-Davidson from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Harley-Davidson currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.57.

Harley-Davidson Price Performance

HOG opened at $25.08 on Monday. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.81 and a 1 year high of $43.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 7.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.49.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by ($0.28). Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is an increase from Harley-Davidson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.62%.

Harley-Davidson Profile

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.