Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 1,048,596 Shares of Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES - Free Report) by 6,879.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,063,838 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,048,596 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.41% of Gates Industrial worth $18,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gates Industrial by 341.1% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gates Industrial by 333.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,896 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Gates Industrial during the 2nd quarter valued at $142,000. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. bought a new stake in Gates Industrial during the second quarter worth approximately $158,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Gates Industrial in the 2nd quarter valued at $168,000. Institutional investors own 98.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wilson S. Neely bought 11,952 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.80 per share, for a total transaction of $200,793.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,800. This represents a -200.81 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gates Industrial Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:GTES traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $20.67. 446,760 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,062,887. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 3.02. Gates Industrial Corp PLC has a 52 week low of $11.22 and a 52 week high of $21.54. The company's 50-day moving average price is $18.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.35.

Gates Industrial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 31st that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Gates Industrial from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Gates Industrial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Gates Industrial from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Gates Industrial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Gates Industrial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.30.

Gates Industrial Company Profile

Gates Industrial Corporation PLC designs and manufactures power transmission equipment. Its products serves harsh and hazardous industries such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing and energy, to everyday consumer applications such as printers, power washers, automatic doors and vacuum cleaners and virtually every form of transportation.