Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley cut shares of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $33.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $40.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on HOG. Bank of America cut their price objective on Harley-Davidson from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Baird R W cut shares of Harley-Davidson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Harley-Davidson from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Harley-Davidson from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.14.

Harley-Davidson Stock Performance

Shares of HOG opened at $28.68 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 6.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.48. Harley-Davidson has a 12-month low of $27.37 and a 12-month high of $44.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Harley-Davidson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.1725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Harley-Davidson’s payout ratio is 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Harley-Davidson

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 4,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $137,965.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,405.75. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harley-Davidson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HOG. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Harley-Davidson by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,468,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,225 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Harley-Davidson by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 647,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,929,000 after buying an additional 30,725 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Harley-Davidson by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 533,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,555,000 after acquiring an additional 148,537 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 468,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,731,000 after acquiring an additional 57,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Harley-Davidson by 174.4% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 419,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 266,806 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.10% of the company’s stock.

About Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc manufactures and sells motorcycles in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, LiveWire, and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company segment designs, manufactures, and sells motorcycles, including cruiser, trike, touring, standard, sportbike, adventure, and dual sport, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, and apparel, as well as licenses its trademarks and related services.