Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in HealthEquity, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in HealthEquity, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQY) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 262,968 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,563 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in HealthEquity were worth $25,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in HealthEquity by 6.6% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 7,758,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $635,065,000 after purchasing an additional 483,269 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of HealthEquity by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,131,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,346,000 after acquiring an additional 23,613 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in HealthEquity by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,078,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,197,000 after acquiring an additional 15,145 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in HealthEquity by 0.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,640,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,369,000 after acquiring an additional 11,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in HealthEquity by 2.2% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,126,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,216,000 after purchasing an additional 24,665 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research lifted their target price on shares of HealthEquity from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on HealthEquity from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho started coverage on HealthEquity in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of HealthEquity in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $108.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of HealthEquity from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.71.

Insider Activity

In other HealthEquity news, Director Robert W. Selander sold 8,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.56, for a total transaction of $837,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 66,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,750,591.64. The trade was a 11.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stuart B. Parker sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.72, for a total value of $2,418,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,061 shares in the company, valued at $1,843,579.92. This trade represents a 56.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,895,788 in the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

HealthEquity Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:HQY opened at $108.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a PE ratio of 99.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.22. HealthEquity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.01 and a 12 month high of $115.59.

HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, December 9th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.12). HealthEquity had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 8.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that HealthEquity, Inc. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

About HealthEquity

HealthEquity, Inc provides technology-enabled services platforms to consumers and employers in the United States. The company offers cloud-based platforms for individuals to make health saving and spending decisions, pay healthcare bills, receive personalized benefit information, earn wellness incentives, grow their savings, and make investment choices; and health savings accounts.