Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 155,018 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,004 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of CTS worth $8,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in CTS by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,713 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of CTS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $92,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of CTS by 13.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,587 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in CTS by 53.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,807 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd raised its position in CTS by 88.5% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 8,501 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 3,991 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of CTS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 9th.

CTS Stock Performance

Shares of CTS stock opened at $44.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.67 and a 200 day moving average of $50.25. CTS Co. has a 12 month low of $42.63 and a 12 month high of $59.68.

CTS (NYSE:CTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The electronics maker reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.06). CTS had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 12.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CTS Co. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CTS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. CTS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.42%.

Insider Activity

In other CTS news, CEO Kieran M. O’sullivan sold 8,494 shares of CTS stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $462,923.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,837,148.50. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 59,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,331,185 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CTS Company Profile

CTS Corporation manufactures and sells sensors, actuators, and connectivity components in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company provides encoders, rotary position sensors, slide potentiometers, industrial and commercial rotary potentiometers. It also provides non-contacting, and contacting pedals; and eBrake pedals.