Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,354,841 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 74,378 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Newmont worth $72,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Newmont during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Newmont during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Newmont during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Newmont by 191.8% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Newmont in the third quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.85% of the company's stock.

Newmont Trading Up 3.4 %

NEM stock traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.28. The company had a trading volume of 23,749,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,558,922. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.03 and a 200 day moving average of $47.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.73. Newmont Co. has a 12 month low of $29.42 and a 12 month high of $58.72. The company has a market capitalization of $43.58 billion, a PE ratio of -25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.49.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.67 billion. Newmont had a positive return on equity of 9.80% and a negative net margin of 7.03%. Newmont's quarterly revenue was up 84.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Newmont Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. Newmont's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -65.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total transaction of $161,430.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 91,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,928,780.76. This represents a 3.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Harry M. Iv Conger acquired 9,498 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $42.15 per share, with a total value of $400,340.70. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 14,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,090.70. This trade represents a 189.96 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NEM. Bernstein Bank boosted their target price on shares of Newmont from $55.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Newmont from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Cibc World Mkts cut Newmont from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group lowered Newmont from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $67.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, CLSA began coverage on Newmont in a research report on Friday, November 29th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.31.

About Newmont

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Fiji, and Ghana.