Geode Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,668,257 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,011 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.29% of Harmonic worth $35,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 57,888 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Harmonic by 414.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 201,976 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,944,000 after acquiring an additional 162,727 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Harmonic by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,041 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 2,207 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Harmonic by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 246,944 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,598,000 after acquiring an additional 38,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Harmonic by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 30,154 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares during the last quarter. 99.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Harmonic Price Performance

Shares of HLIT stock opened at $8.88 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 0.92. Harmonic Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.91 and a 12 month high of $15.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts expect that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Harmonic in a report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Harmonic from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Northland Securities cut their target price on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harmonic

In other news, Director Daniel T. Whalen acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.15 per share, with a total value of $30,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,726. This represents a 51.37 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Krall bought 10,000 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $97,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 163,490 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,932.20. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 32,780 shares of company stock worth $316,607 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.36% of the company’s stock.

Harmonic 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.