BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) by 9.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 131,685 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,459 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in BrightSphere Investment Group were worth $3,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $853,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group by 297.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 154,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,414,000 after buying an additional 115,300 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of BrightSphere Investment Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,204,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in BrightSphere Investment Group by 61.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 77,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after buying an additional 29,302 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in BrightSphere Investment Group by 4.8% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,098,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,910,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.69% of the company’s stock.

BrightSphere Investment Group Stock Performance

BrightSphere Investment Group stock opened at $30.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.35. BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. has a one year low of $17.32 and a one year high of $30.76.

BrightSphere Investment Group (NYSE:BSIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $123.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.95 million. BrightSphere Investment Group had a return on equity of 7,606.72% and a net margin of 13.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BrightSphere Investment Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. BrightSphere Investment Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSIG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of BrightSphere Investment Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on BrightSphere Investment Group from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded BrightSphere Investment Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $26.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

BrightSphere Investment Group Profile

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc is a publically owned asset management holding company. The firm provides its services to individuals and institutions. It manages separate client focused portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches equity mutual funds for its clients. It invests in public equity, fixed income, and alternative investment markets through its subsidiaries.