Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 3,813 Shares of Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) by 196.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,813 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Newmont were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Newmont by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Newmont by 29.4% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Newmont by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 11,788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Newmont by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 8,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Newmont by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 8,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.85% of the company’s stock.

Newmont Stock Performance

Shares of NEM stock opened at $44.05 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.42. The stock has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.52. Newmont Co. has a 12 month low of $29.42 and a 12 month high of $58.72.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $5.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Newmont had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 17.92%. On average, equities analysts expect that Newmont Co. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Newmont’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NEM shares. Raymond James dropped their price target on Newmont from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. CLSA began coverage on shares of Newmont in a research note on Friday, November 29th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Newmont from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Newmont from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Newmont from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $67.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Natascha Viljoen sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $360,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 145,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,838,680. This trade represents a 5.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 82,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,303,840. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,154 shares of company stock worth $1,166,843 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Newmont

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Fiji, and Ghana.