Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 8,130 Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,130 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $496,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Miller Industries as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MLR. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Miller Industries by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 766,623 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $46,764,000 after purchasing an additional 71,231 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Miller Industries by 12.9% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 496,528 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $30,288,000 after acquiring an additional 56,578 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Miller Industries by 2.0% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 395,159 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $24,105,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Miller Industries by 11.3% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 367,793 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $22,435,000 after purchasing an additional 37,480 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Miller Industries by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 230,828 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $14,081,000 after purchasing an additional 9,482 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MLR shares. StockNews.com downgraded Miller Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Miller Industries in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Miller Industries Stock Performance

Shares of MLR traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.43. 62,507 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 62,902. Miller Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.33 and a 1-year high of $78.25. The stock has a market cap of $759.89 million, a P/E ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's fifty day moving average is $69.99 and its 200 day moving average is $63.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.12.

Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The auto parts company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.33. The firm had revenue of $314.27 million during the quarter. Miller Industries had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 5.23%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Miller Industries, Inc. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Miller Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Miller Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.60%.

Miller Industries Company Profile

Miller Industries, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells towing and recovery equipment. The company offers wreckers that are used to recover and tow disabled vehicles and other equipment; and car carriers, which are specialized flat-bed vehicles with hydraulic tilt mechanisms, which are used to transport new or disabled vehicles and other equipment.