Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) by 6,879.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,063,838 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,048,596 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Gates Industrial worth $18,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Gates Industrial by 341.1% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Gates Industrial by 333.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Gates Industrial during the second quarter worth $142,000. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new stake in Gates Industrial in the second quarter valued at $158,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gates Industrial in the second quarter valued at $168,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the company’s stock.

Gates Industrial Price Performance

Gates Industrial stock opened at $20.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 3.02. The company has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99 and a beta of 1.38. Gates Industrial Corp PLC has a 1 year low of $11.22 and a 1 year high of $21.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.35.

Gates Industrial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Gates Industrial news, Director Wilson S. Neely acquired 11,952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.80 per share, with a total value of $200,793.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,800. The trade was a -200.81 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GTES shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Gates Industrial from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Gates Industrial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Gates Industrial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Gates Industrial in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Gates Industrial from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.30.

About Gates Industrial

Gates Industrial Corporation PLC designs and manufactures power transmission equipment. Its products serves harsh and hazardous industries such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing and energy, to everyday consumer applications such as printers, power washers, automatic doors and vacuum cleaners and virtually every form of transportation.