Meeder Asset Management Inc. Buys New Stake in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $121,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of HNI by 335.4% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 34,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 26,840 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in HNI by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,958 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in HNI during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,076,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in HNI by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 190,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,592,000 after buying an additional 53,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HNI by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,718,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $288,016,000 after acquiring an additional 62,476 shares during the period. 75.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HNI Stock Performance

Shares of HNI stock opened at $44.75 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.90. HNI Co. has a 52-week low of $40.94 and a 52-week high of $58.42.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.13. HNI had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business had revenue of $642.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $657.03 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that HNI Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. HNI’s payout ratio is 45.67%.

Insider Transactions at HNI

In other HNI news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of HNI stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total value of $27,744.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,260.60. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of HNI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st.

About HNI

HNI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, sale, and marketing of workplace furnishings and residential building products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Workplace Furnishings and Residential Building Products. The Workplace Furnishings segment offers a range of commercial and home office furniture, including panel-based and freestanding furniture systems, seating, storage, benching, tables, architectural products, and ancillary and hospitality products, as well as social collaborative items under the HON, Allsteel, Beyond, Gunlocke, HBF, HBF Textiles, HNI India, Kimball, National, Etc., Interwoven, David Edward, Kimball Hospitality, and D'style brands.