Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W) by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,122 shares of the company’s stock after selling 743 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Wayfair were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Wayfair in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Wayfair during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Wayfair in the third quarter worth $50,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new stake in Wayfair during the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new position in Wayfair during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $109,000. Institutional investors own 89.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Wayfair from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Wayfair from $70.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Wayfair in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Wayfair in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Wayfair from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.24.

Wayfair Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of W stock opened at $48.34 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $45.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.74. Wayfair Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.35 and a 52-week high of $76.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of -10.77 and a beta of 3.43.

Wayfair (NYSE:W) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.38) earnings per share. Wayfair’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Wayfair Inc. will post -2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Thomas Netzer sold 1,039 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total transaction of $52,625.35. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 171,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,701,163.50. This represents a 0.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jon Blotner sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.60, for a total transaction of $246,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 52,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,791,380.80. This represents a 8.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,036 shares of company stock worth $4,551,431 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 26.81% of the company’s stock.

About Wayfair

Wayfair Inc provides e-commerce business in the United States and internationally. The company offers approximately thirty million products for the home sector. It offers online selections of furniture, décor, housewares, and home improvement products through its sites consisting of Wayfair, Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane, Perigold, and Wayfair Professional.