Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $40.31 Million Stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in United Therapeutics Co. (NASDAQ:UTHR - Free Report) by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 112,473 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 44,683 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.25% of United Therapeutics worth $40,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in United Therapeutics by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 12,732 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,056,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $567,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 35.2% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 33,943 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $10,813,000 after purchasing an additional 8,833 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 92.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 2,768 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.08% of the company's stock.

United Therapeutics Price Performance

UTHR traded down $2.78 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $360.87. 138,361 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 446,962. United Therapeutics Co. has a twelve month low of $208.62 and a twelve month high of $417.82. The company has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $371.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.16.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $748.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.38 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that United Therapeutics Co. will post 25.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, Director Christopher Causey sold 510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.63, for a total transaction of $192,081.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,384,115.25. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,792 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $2,794,367.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,722,093.24. This represents a 61.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,753 shares of company stock worth $51,787,157. Corporate insiders own 11.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UTHR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price target on shares of United Therapeutics from $319.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered United Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on United Therapeutics from $243.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.