Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY - Free Report) by 313.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 542,505 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 411,165 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of Etsy worth $30,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Etsy by 13.0% during the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,568 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Etsy by 1.8% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 429,001 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,302,000 after purchasing an additional 7,592 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Etsy during the second quarter valued at $162,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in Etsy by 2,736.8% in the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,851 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 4,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Etsy by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,764,064 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $339,964,000 after purchasing an additional 721,454 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.53% of the company's stock.

Etsy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ETSY traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,318,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,778,057. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $53.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.64. The company has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.99. Etsy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.10 and a 1-year high of $85.22.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.09). Etsy had a negative return on equity of 46.79% and a net margin of 9.17%. The company had revenue of $662.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $652.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Etsy, Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Etsy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 17.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on ETSY shares. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Etsy in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Etsy from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Etsy from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Etsy from $64.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Etsy from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.17.

Insider Activity

In other Etsy news, insider Nicholas Daniel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.15, for a total transaction of $39,862.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,335,181.15. This trade represents a 2.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Toni Thompson Nadal sold 1,443 shares of Etsy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.11, for a total value of $73,751.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 592 shares in the company, valued at $30,257.12. This represents a 70.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,069 shares of company stock valued at $261,888 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

About Etsy

Etsy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, and France. Its primary marketplace is Etsy.com that connects artisans and entrepreneurs with various consumers. The company also offers Reverb, a musical instrument marketplace; Depop, a fashion resale marketplace; and Elo7, a Brazil-based marketplace for handmade and unique items.