Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) by 6,879.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,063,838 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,048,596 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Gates Industrial were worth $18,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GTES. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Gates Industrial by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,008,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,935,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678,954 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gates Industrial by 156.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 2,665,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,144,000 after buying an additional 1,627,482 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Gates Industrial by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,921,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037,741 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Gates Industrial by 606.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 948,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,652,000 after acquiring an additional 814,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Gates Industrial by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,137,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,421,000 after acquiring an additional 686,080 shares in the last quarter. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Wilson S. Neely acquired 11,952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.80 per share, for a total transaction of $200,793.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,800. The trade was a -200.81 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Gates Industrial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Gates Industrial from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Gates Industrial in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Gates Industrial from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Gates Industrial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $22.00 in a report on Monday, August 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.30.

Gates Industrial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GTES opened at $20.74 on Friday. Gates Industrial Corp PLC has a 12-month low of $11.22 and a 12-month high of $21.54. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.35.

Gates Industrial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 31st that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Gates Industrial Company Profile

Gates Industrial Corporation PLC designs and manufactures power transmission equipment. Its products serves harsh and hazardous industries such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing and energy, to everyday consumer applications such as printers, power washers, automatic doors and vacuum cleaners and virtually every form of transportation.