Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 9,820 Shares of AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:AMCX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:AMCX) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,446 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,820 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.41% of AMC Networks worth $2,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AMC Networks by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,492,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,145,000 after purchasing an additional 30,721 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AMC Networks by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,529,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,741,000 after purchasing an additional 155,346 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of AMC Networks by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,010,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,992,000 after purchasing an additional 19,794 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AMC Networks by 6.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 528,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,231,000 after purchasing an additional 30,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWWM Inc. increased its position in AMC Networks by 193.7% during the fourth quarter. RWWM Inc. now owns 515,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,682,000 after acquiring an additional 339,912 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AMC Networks

In related news, insider Kimberly Kelleher sold 10,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.22, for a total transaction of $188,404.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP James Gallagher sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.54, for a total value of $388,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,659 shares in the company, valued at $25,780.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kimberly Kelleher sold 10,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.22, for a total value of $188,404.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,348 shares of company stock valued at $888,957 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 25.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut AMC Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.75.

AMC Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMCX traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.69. 88,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,005,007. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.39. AMC Networks Inc. has a one year low of $8.84 and a one year high of $20.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market cap of $422.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.30.

AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.63). The business had revenue of $596.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $601.74 million. AMC Networks had a return on equity of 23.57% and a net margin of 6.09%. The business’s revenue was down 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.62 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AMC Networks Inc. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMC Networks Profile

AMC Networks Inc, an entertainment company, owns and operates a suite of video entertainment products that are delivered to audiences, a platform to distributors, and advertisers in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Domestic Operations, and International and Other segments.