Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 8,130 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Miller Industries by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 766,623 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $46,764,000 after purchasing an additional 71,231 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Miller Industries by 193.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 92,955 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,670,000 after purchasing an additional 61,247 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Miller Industries by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 496,528 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $30,288,000 after purchasing an additional 56,578 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Miller Industries by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 367,793 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $22,435,000 after acquiring an additional 37,480 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Miller Industries by 94.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 63,360 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $3,486,000 after buying an additional 30,714 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MLR shares. StockNews.com downgraded Miller Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Miller Industries in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Miller Industries Stock Performance

NYSE MLR opened at $66.87 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.71. The company has a market cap of $764.93 million, a PE ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Miller Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.33 and a 1-year high of $78.25.

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

Miller Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Miller Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.60%.

About Miller Industries

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.