Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 271,969 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,601 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.53% of Korn Ferry worth $20,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Korn Ferry by 7.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,133 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Korn Ferry during the third quarter worth $209,000. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Korn Ferry during the third quarter valued at $228,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Korn Ferry by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,217,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $91,587,000 after acquiring an additional 28,014 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Korn Ferry by 323.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 18,487 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 14,124 shares during the last quarter. 98.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary D. Burnison sold 16,274 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total transaction of $1,205,089.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 356,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,424,298.20. The trade was a 4.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Debra J. Perry sold 5,280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.30, for a total transaction of $387,024.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,384,994. The trade was a 10.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,280 shares of company stock valued at $5,832,156 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Korn Ferry Price Performance

NYSE KFY traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 235,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 358,383. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.15. Korn Ferry has a 1-year low of $54.77 and a 1-year high of $80.64. The company's 50-day moving average is $73.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 1.56.

Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The business services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.21. Korn Ferry had a net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 14.27%. The firm had revenue of $682.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $675.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Korn Ferry will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Korn Ferry Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Korn Ferry's payout ratio is 31.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on KFY shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Korn Ferry from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Korn Ferry from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.00.

About Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry, together with its subsidiaries, provides organizational consulting services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consulting, Digital, Executive Search, and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) & Professional Search. The company provides executive search services to recruit board level, chief executive, other senior executive, and general management talent of organizations.