Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,354,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 74,378 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Newmont were worth $72,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Newmont by 14.0% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 531,041 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,379,000 after acquiring an additional 65,075 shares during the last quarter. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Newmont during the 3rd quarter worth $1,263,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Newmont by 99.8% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 601,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,138,000 after purchasing an additional 300,400 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in Newmont by 1,947.6% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 711,591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,035,000 after buying an additional 676,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Newmont by 117.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 34,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after buying an additional 18,722 shares in the last quarter. 68.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NEM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Veritas raised Newmont to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Newmont from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bernstein Bank raised their price objective on shares of Newmont from $55.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Newmont from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Newmont from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Newmont presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.31.

Insider Activity at Newmont

In related news, Director Harry M. Iv Conger purchased 9,498 shares of Newmont stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.15 per share, for a total transaction of $400,340.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,090.70. The trade was a 189.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Thomas Ronald Palmer sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.81, for a total value of $1,076,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 271,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,607,746.89. This represents a 6.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Newmont Stock Up 3.4 %

Newmont stock opened at $38.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.25. Newmont Co. has a twelve month low of $29.42 and a twelve month high of $58.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.18, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.49.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.67 billion. Newmont had a negative net margin of 7.03% and a positive return on equity of 9.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 84.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Newmont Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Newmont Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Newmont’s dividend payout ratio is currently -65.79%.

Newmont Company Profile

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Fiji, and Ghana.