Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,420 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,051 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.18% of Boston Beer worth $5,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SAM. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Boston Beer by 105.1% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Boston Beer by 36.6% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Boston Beer in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Boston Beer in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC lifted its position in shares of Boston Beer by 1,533.3% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 81.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SAM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Boston Beer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Boston Beer in a report on Friday, December 6th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $318.00 target price on shares of Boston Beer in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on Boston Beer from $300.00 to $309.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $389.00 price target on shares of Boston Beer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.82.

Boston Beer Price Performance

SAM stock opened at $299.98 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.07. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $254.40 and a 12 month high of $371.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.12.

Boston Beer Profile

The Boston Beer Company, Inc produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. The company's flagship beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It offers various beers, hard ciders, flavored malt beverages, and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Angel City, and Coney Island brand names.