Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 581,158 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 19,124 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of MGIC Investment worth $13,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTG. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new position in MGIC Investment during the 3rd quarter worth $13,535,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in MGIC Investment by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,485,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,213,000 after buying an additional 371,882 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in MGIC Investment during the 4th quarter worth $8,362,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in MGIC Investment by 75.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 457,706 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,716,000 after buying an additional 196,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Taika Capital LP purchased a new position in MGIC Investment during the 3rd quarter worth $4,123,000. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MTG. UBS Group boosted their target price on MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America downgraded MGIC Investment from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $26.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Compass Point reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $24.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Julie K. Sperber sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total value of $112,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 75,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,842,968.50. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MGIC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of MTG stock opened at $24.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. MGIC Investment Co. has a 52-week low of $19.22 and a 52-week high of $26.56.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The insurance provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.07. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 14.86% and a net margin of 63.18%. On average, equities analysts expect that MGIC Investment Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

MGIC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. MGIC Investment’s payout ratio is 17.93%.

About MGIC Investment

MGIC Investment Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance, other mortgage credit risk management solutions, and ancillary services to lenders and government sponsored entities in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The company offers primary mortgage insurance that provides mortgage default protection on individual loans, as well as covers unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest, and various expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure.