Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 4,879 Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. $TTWO

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Take-Two Interactive by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 4,879 shares to bring its total to 192,848 shares valued at about $49.4 million.
• Insider selling picked up over the last 90 days, with CEO Strauss Zelnick and Director Michael Dornemann among those selling shares; insiders sold a total of 65,292 shares worth about $14.0 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $284.31, even as the stock traded down 1.4% to $220.45 in Friday’s session.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 192,848 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,879 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Take-Two Interactive Software worth $49,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of Take-Two Interactive Software during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Take-Two Interactive Software during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of Take-Two Interactive Software during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Take-Two Interactive Software during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Take-Two Interactive Software by 216.3% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 95.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Strauss Zelnick sold 52,054 shares of Take-Two Interactive Software stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.40, for a total transaction of $11,160,377.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 178,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,313,708.80. This trade represents a 22.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Dornemann sold 1,390 shares of Take-Two Interactive Software stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.09, for a total transaction of $296,195.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,586,762.25. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 65,292 shares of company stock worth $13,978,938 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on TTWO shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Take-Two Interactive Software in a report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Take-Two Interactive Software in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Take-Two Interactive Software from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Take-Two Interactive Software from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Take-Two Interactive Software from $295.00 to $293.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.31.

Take-Two Interactive Software Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of TTWO stock opened at $220.45 on Friday. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.63 and a 12-month high of $264.79. The company has a market capitalization of $40.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $207.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $227.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Take-Two Interactive Software Profile

Take-Two Interactive Software is an American video game publisher headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1993 by Ryan Brant, the company is publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker TTWO and is led by Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick. Take-Two operates through distinct publishing labels that manage development, marketing and distribution of interactive entertainment for a global audience.

Take-Two's publishing portfolio includes Rockstar Games and 2K, as well as the Private Division label, which supports independent and mid-size developers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.