Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 306 Shares of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,049 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 306 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Check Point Software Technologies were worth $5,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 335,251 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,985,000 after buying an additional 4,194 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Check Point Software Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $442,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 16,161 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,651,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in Check Point Software Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Check Point Software Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $217,000. 87.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $187.00 price target on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Check Point Software Technologies from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Check Point Software Technologies from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on Check Point Software Technologies from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.74.

Check Point Software Technologies Price Performance

Shares of CHKP stock opened at $176.83 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $190.65 and a 200 day moving average of $176.76. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. has a 1-year low of $142.60 and a 1-year high of $210.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.63.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25. Check Point Software Technologies had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 33.17%. The firm had revenue of $635.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $634.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Check Point Software Technologies Profile

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. develops, markets, and supports a range of products and services for IT security worldwide. The company offers a multilevel security architecture, cloud, network, mobile devices, endpoints information, and IOT solutions. It provides Check Point Infinity Architecture, a cyber security architecture that protects against fifth generation cyber-attacks across various networks, endpoint, cloud, workloads, Internet of Things, and mobile.