ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS - Free Report) by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 436,885 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 172,402 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.26% of ExlService worth $16,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of ExlService by 18.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 257,029 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,174,000 after buying an additional 39,537 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ExlService in the first quarter valued at about $19,417,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in ExlService by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,176,353 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $546,208,000 after buying an additional 160,723 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in ExlService by 7.8% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 629,845 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $20,030,000 after buying an additional 45,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of ExlService by 317.0% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 255,200 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,003,000 after acquiring an additional 194,000 shares in the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EXLS shares. StockNews.com raised ExlService from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of ExlService from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on ExlService from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on ExlService from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded ExlService from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.86.

ExlService Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXLS traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 571,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 953,469. The company has a quick ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.90. ExlService Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.27 and a 1 year high of $47.32.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $472.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $460.73 million. ExlService had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 10.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that ExlService Holdings, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ExlService

In related news, EVP Anita Mahon sold 25,670 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.50, for a total transaction of $911,285.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,444,423.50. The trade was a 27.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Vikas Bhalla sold 22,813 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.86, for a total transaction of $954,952.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,304,254.50. This trade represents a 18.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 483,483 shares of company stock valued at $20,737,537 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.16% of the company's stock.

ExlService Company Profile

ExlService Holdings, Inc operates as a data analytics, and digital operations and solutions company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Insurance, Healthcare, Analytics, and Emerging Business segments. It also provides digital operations and solutions and analytics-driven services, such as claims processing, premium and benefit administration, agency management, account reconciliation, policy research, underwriting support, new business acquisition, policy servicing, premium audit, surveys, billing and collection, commercial and residential survey, and customer service using digital technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced automation; digital customer acquisition services using a software-as-a-service delivery model through LifePRO and LISS platforms; subrogation services; and Subrosource software platform, an end-to-end subrogation platform.