Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in HealthEquity, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in HealthEquity, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQY - Free Report) by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 242,405 shares of the company's stock after selling 95,161 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of HealthEquity worth $19,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HealthEquity in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in HealthEquity during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in HealthEquity by 114.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 595 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of HealthEquity in the second quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of HealthEquity in the third quarter valued at approximately $112,000. 99.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at HealthEquity

In related news, Director Robert W. Selander sold 8,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.98, for a total value of $684,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,719 shares in the company, valued at $4,540,582.62. The trade was a 13.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Frank Corvino sold 1,247 shares of HealthEquity stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.26, for a total value of $100,084.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $387,093.98. The trade was a 20.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,536 shares of company stock worth $884,517 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HealthEquity Price Performance

Shares of HealthEquity stock traded up $3.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.98. 1,561,892 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 620,201. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.48, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's fifty day moving average is $85.02 and its 200-day moving average is $81.07. The company has a quick ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. HealthEquity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.10 and a 52 week high of $101.17.

HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 3rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.16. HealthEquity had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 9.61%. The firm had revenue of $299.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.48 million. Research analysts expect that HealthEquity, Inc. will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of HealthEquity in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on HealthEquity from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of HealthEquity in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of HealthEquity from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of HealthEquity in a report on Friday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.23.

HealthEquity Company Profile

HealthEquity, Inc provides technology-enabled services platforms to consumers and employers in the United States. The company offers cloud-based platforms for individuals to make health saving and spending decisions, pay healthcare bills, receive personalized benefit information, earn wellness incentives, grow their savings, and make investment choices; and health savings accounts.