Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Hillenbrand Inc $HI

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Hillenbrand Inc (NYSE:HI) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,389,490 shares of the company’s stock after selling 94,902 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.90% of Hillenbrand worth $226,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hillenbrand by 203.7% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Hillenbrand by 74.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 622.7% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 3,213 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Hillenbrand by 47.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hillenbrand in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors own 89.09% of the company’s stock.

Hillenbrand Stock Performance

Shares of Hillenbrand stock opened at $31.98 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.43 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Hillenbrand Inc has a 52 week low of $18.36 and a 52 week high of $35.48.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.66). Hillenbrand had a net margin of 1.61% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The company had revenue of $540.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.10 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Hillenbrand Inc will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were paid a $0.2275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Hillenbrand’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Hillenbrand’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 149.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on HI shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hillenbrand in a report on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Hillenbrand in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Hillenbrand has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

About Hillenbrand

Hillenbrand, Inc, headquartered in Batesville, Indiana, is a global industrial company specializing in engineered equipment and process solutions. Through its Coperion division, Hillenbrand designs and manufactures compounding and extrusion systems, polymer and food processing equipment, bulk material handling technologies and associated automation. These offerings support a variety of end markets, including plastics, chemicals, food, pharmaceutical and minerals, helping customers optimize production efficiency and product quality.

Tracing its roots to the Batesville Casket Company founded in 1906, the organization evolved through strategic acquisitions and expanded its focus on process technologies.