Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stake in Harley-Davidson, Inc. $HOG

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) by 303.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 465,085 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 349,797 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Harley-Davidson were worth $9,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 62.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 86,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 33,097 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 153.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Harley-Davidson by 32.8% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 16,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 3,967 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 12.0% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 204,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,818,000 after buying an additional 21,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,757,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,682,000 after buying an additional 64,118 shares during the last quarter. 85.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Harley-Davidson

In related news, CFO Jonathan R. Root sold 1,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.44, for a total value of $37,979.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,400 shares in the company, valued at $718,536. The trade was a 5.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Paul J. Krause sold 1,564 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total value of $40,664.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $780,312. This represents a 4.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,672 shares of company stock worth $116,266. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

Shares of Harley-Davidson stock opened at $24.71 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.47. Harley-Davidson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.09 and a 12 month high of $31.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Harley-Davidson had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 6.28%. Harley-Davidson’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Harley-Davidson, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Harley-Davidson’s dividend payout ratio is 46.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on HOG shares. Weiss Ratings raised Harley-Davidson from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Harley-Davidson in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on Harley-Davidson from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.11.

Harley-Davidson Profile

Harley-Davidson, Inc is a renowned American motorcycle manufacturer best known for its heavyweight cruiser and touring bikes. Founded in 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the company has built a strong reputation for producing distinctive motorcycles characterized by their signature V-twin engines, chrome finishes and robust frames. Harley-Davidson markets its products globally through a network of franchised dealerships and focuses on delivering an immersive brand experience to its customers, emphasizing lifestyle and community alongside its motorcycles.

In addition to its core motorcycle business, Harley-Davidson offers an extensive range of parts, accessories and apparel under its Genuine Motor Parts & Accessories and MotorClothes lines.