Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 19,499 Shares of Mercury Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRCY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Mercury Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRCY) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 238,368 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 19,499 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.40% of Mercury Systems worth $8,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRCY. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mercury Systems by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 6,416,449 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $173,180,000 after purchasing an additional 36,923 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Mercury Systems by 1.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,027,158 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,713,000 after buying an additional 20,604 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mercury Systems by 14.7% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,554,166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,848,000 after buying an additional 199,600 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mercury Systems by 1.6% in the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,329,265 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $49,183,000 after acquiring an additional 20,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearline Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Mercury Systems by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 526,611 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,213,000 after acquiring an additional 81,826 shares in the last quarter. 95.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercury Systems Price Performance

Shares of MRCY stock opened at $38.73 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.59 and a current ratio of 4.10. Mercury Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.31 and a 52-week high of $44.63. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of -19.18 and a beta of 0.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Mercury Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Mercury Systems from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Mercury Systems from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Mercury Systems from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mercury Systems from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.50.

Insider Activity

In other Mercury Systems news, Director Debora A. Plunkett sold 1,843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.07, for a total value of $70,163.01. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,675.73. This represents a 13.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 13,600 shares of Mercury Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $37.25 per share, for a total transaction of $506,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,944,633 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,687,579.25. The trade was a 0.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,803 shares of company stock valued at $222,211 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Mercury Systems

Mercury Systems, Inc, a technology company, manufactures and sells components, products, modules, and subsystems for aerospace and defense industries in the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Its products and solutions are deployed in approximately 300 programs with 25 defense contractors and commercial aviation customers.