Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. $ST

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. (NYSE:ST) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 325,314 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,945 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Sensata Technologies were worth $11,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ST. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Sensata Technologies by 51.2% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 21,528 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 7,294 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in Sensata Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $372,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Sensata Technologies by 1.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 27,782 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Sensata Technologies in the first quarter worth about $253,000. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its stake in Sensata Technologies by 26.1% in the first quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 14,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 3,080 shares during the last quarter. 99.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sensata Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of ST opened at $45.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.17, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. has a 1-year low of $28.16 and a 1-year high of $53.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.98 and a 200 day moving average of $41.01.

Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $934.80 million for the quarter. Sensata Technologies had a net margin of 1.28% and a return on equity of 18.23%. On average, research analysts expect that Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

Sensata Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Sensata Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 154.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sensata Technologies from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sensata Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Sensata Technologies from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Sensata Technologies in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Barclays downgraded Sensata Technologies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David K. Stott sold 6,335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.40, for a total value of $300,279.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,881,163.80. This represents a 13.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

About Sensata Technologies

Sensata Technologies Holdings N.V. is a global industrial technology company specializing in the design, development and manufacture of sensors and electrical protection solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes pressure, temperature, position, speed, current and magnetic sensors, as well as circuit breakers and other protection devices. Sensata’s offerings serve a wide array of end markets, with a particularly strong presence in automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), industrial automation, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), commercial aerospace and renewable energy sectors.

Headquartered in Attleboro, Massachusetts, Sensata operates a network of manufacturing and engineering facilities across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America.