Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 67,809 Shares of Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA - Free Report) by 37.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 113,744 shares of the company's stock after selling 67,809 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Azenta worth $5,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AZTA. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Azenta during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Azenta by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Azenta by 150.9% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Azenta during the 1st quarter worth $130,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Azenta by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. 99.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Azenta from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Azenta from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Azenta presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Azenta news, CEO John Marotta acquired 12,717 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.48 per share, for a total transaction of $502,067.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,932,681.76. This represents a 14.63 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William L. Cornog acquired 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.60 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,298. The trade was a 554.32 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Azenta Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZTA traded up $1.34 on Thursday, reaching $45.99. 751,051 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 511,218. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $45.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.22. Azenta, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.82 and a 12 month high of $69.16.

Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $170.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.66 million. Azenta had a positive return on equity of 1.03% and a negative net margin of 25.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Azenta, Inc. will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Azenta Company Profile

Azenta, Inc provides biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences market in North America, Africa, China, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates in two reportable segments, Life Sciences Products and Life Sciences Services.