Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 110,909 Shares of e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF - Free Report) by 45.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,529 shares of the company's stock after selling 110,909 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of e.l.f. Beauty worth $14,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELF. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty in the second quarter worth about $6,659,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 1,380.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 16,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,775,000 after acquiring an additional 15,184 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in e.l.f. Beauty by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 39,319 shares of the company's stock worth $8,285,000 after purchasing an additional 9,939 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in e.l.f. Beauty by 84.4% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,259,644 shares of the company's stock worth $265,432,000 after purchasing an additional 576,383 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in e.l.f. Beauty by 14.2% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 503,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,905,000 after purchasing an additional 62,480 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

e.l.f. Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ELF stock traded down $3.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $127.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 853,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,931,869. The firm's 50-day moving average is $123.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.74. The company has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.06, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.49. e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.50 and a 1-year high of $221.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.78.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.34. e.l.f. Beauty had a net margin of 8.87% and a return on equity of 19.34%. The firm had revenue of $301.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $289.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ELF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on e.l.f. Beauty in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on e.l.f. Beauty from $220.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, e.l.f. Beauty presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.82.

Insider Activity at e.l.f. Beauty

In other e.l.f. Beauty news, Director Maureen C. Watson sold 785 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $102,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,888 shares in the company, valued at $245,440. The trade was a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott Milsten sold 530 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.60, for a total transaction of $72,928.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 68,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,474,172.80. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $297,442 in the last 90 days. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About e.l.f. Beauty

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of inclusive, accessible, clean, vegan and cruelty free cosmetics and skin care products. The company focuses on the e-commerce, national retailers and international business channels. Its brands include elf, elf skin, WELL People and KEYS soulcare.