Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Position in HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) by 57.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 45,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,866 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in HSBC were worth $1,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in HSBC by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,374,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,465,000 after purchasing an additional 73,129 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HSBC by 3.9% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,799,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $190,150,000 after acquiring an additional 178,435 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of HSBC by 44.6% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,422,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $175,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,367 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of HSBC by 186.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,367,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,936,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193,561 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of HSBC in the fourth quarter worth about $65,592,000. Institutional investors own 1.48% of the company’s stock.

HSBC Price Performance

Shares of HSBC stock opened at $40.53 on Friday. HSBC Holdings plc has a 12 month low of $34.89 and a 12 month high of $42.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.28 and a 200 day moving average of $39.07. The firm has a market cap of $153.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.11, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.63.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.33). HSBC had a net margin of 19.02% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that HSBC Holdings plc will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HSBC Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from HSBC’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.30%. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio is 108.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas lowered HSBC from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HSBC presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $811.00.

HSBC Profile

HSBC Holdings plc provides banking and financial services worldwide. The company operates through Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The Wealth and Personal Banking segment offers retail banking and wealth products, including current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans, credit and debit cards, and local and international payment services; and wealth management services comprising insurance and investment products, global asset management services, investment management, and private wealth solutions.