Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 7,011 Shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,668,257 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,011 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Harmonic were worth $35,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Harmonic by 40.3% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 201,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 57,888 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in Harmonic by 113.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 71,976 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 38,230 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Harmonic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,292,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Harmonic by 6.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 39,041 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 2,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 18.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 246,944 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,598,000 after buying an additional 38,137 shares during the period. 99.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Harmonic Price Performance

NASDAQ:HLIT opened at $8.88 on Thursday. Harmonic Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.91 and a 52-week high of $15.46. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.18. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.79.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Harmonic declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the communications equipment provider to purchase up to 15.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on HLIT. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Northland Securities dropped their price target on Harmonic from $14.00 to $12.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Harmonic from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Harmonic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Harmonic news, CEO Nimrod Ben-Natan bought 7,780 shares of Harmonic stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.65 per share, for a total transaction of $75,077.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 347,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,356,241.05. The trade was a 2.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Walter Jankovic purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.44 per share, for a total transaction of $113,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $435,457.76. This trade represents a 35.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 32,780 shares of company stock valued at $316,607. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.