Harfst & Associates Inc. is a well-known investment firm that specializes in investing in stocks, bonds and other securities. According to recent reports filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, Harfst & Associates has reduced its holdings in Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter of 2023. The firm now holds a total of 144,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,635 shares during the quarter.
This news may come as a surprise to some investors who were expecting Harfst & Associates to maintain or increase their holdings in Barnes Group Inc. However, it is important to note that Harfst & Associates still owns a significant portion of the company’s stock, accounting for about 1.7% of their investment portfolio and making it their eighth largest position.
The current value of Harfst & Associates’ holdings in Barnes Group Inc is estimated at $5,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. This indicates that despite holding fewer shares than before, Harfst & Associates still sees value in the company’s potential for growth and earnings.
Barnes Group Inc recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th . For Q1 FY23 it had an earning per share (EPS) of $0.47 which was higher than anticipated consensus estimates by analysts at $0.39 per share- clearly affixing credibility to the investments made by Harfst and associate in Barnes group.
Despite these positive results, some analysts have dropped their target price on Barnes Group from $40.00 to $37.00 citing macro factors such as policy changes which can affect trade relations between countries regarding necessary goods required to keep industries functioning.Harfst & Associate reduce partial ownership also thus evidently acknowledging these forces too.
Overall, it appears that Harfst & Associates continues to remain bullish on Barnes Group Inc., despite the reduction in their holdings. This is likely due to the company’s solid performance and potential for future growth in a very volatile market period, suggesting future engagement with Barnes Group Inc is in likelihood to be reasonable as well.
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Barnes Group: Institutional Investor Movement and Recent Company Developments
Barnes Group: An Overview of Institutional Investors and Recent Company News
As of the third quarter of 2023, Barnes Group has seen a number of changes in institutional investor shares. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings by 3.9%, now owning over 7.7 million shares worth $224,632,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake by 3.4%, now holding over 5.3 million shares valued at $154,831,000, while Invesco Ltd increased its stake by an impressive 109.9%. Victory Capital Management and Dimensional Fund Advisors also increased their holdings during the most recent quarter.
Currently, 86% of Barnes Group’s stock is owned by institutional investors.
Despite these changes in investor stakes, the company’s stock took a hit during trading hours on Monday with shares dropping down to $41 due to average volume compared to the company’s market cap of $2.08 billion.
Analysts have recently weighed in on B shares with mixed reviews – StockNews.com giving Barnes Group a “buy” rating for the company while Truist Financial dropped their target price from $40 to $37 in April.
On June 9th, Barnes Group announced a quarterly dividend with shareholders receiving a $0.16 dividend representing an annualized return of $.64 with an ex-dividend date set for May 24th.
The most significant news for Barnes Group came when Director Neal J Keating acquired 2,500 shares at an average price of $41.59 per share totaling $103,975 worth of stock on May 2nd and bringing his total ownership to nearly five percent (4,872) adding enthusiasm among current investors amidst challenging times for this industry leader that seeks to push itself forward towards greater growth opportunities through continued investment in diverse areas such as automation technology or aerospace products alongside ongoing research & development efforts that continue paying dividends for this storied firm.
