e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Free Report) by 60.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,649 shares of the company's stock after selling 197,908 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of e.l.f. Beauty worth $8,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,497,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $690,174,000 after buying an additional 68,103 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,226,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,550 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,772,528 shares of the company's stock worth $222,541,000 after purchasing an additional 264,296 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 53.7% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 938,970 shares of the company's stock worth $58,958,000 after purchasing an additional 327,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,576,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

e.l.f. Beauty Price Performance

Shares of ELF traded up $6.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $117.76. The company had a trading volume of 2,540,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,565,565. The company has a current ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. e.l.f. Beauty has a 12-month low of $49.40 and a 12-month high of $190.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.02, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.52.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.06. e.l.f. Beauty had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 17.98%. The company had revenue of $332.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Tarang Amin sold 2,405 shares of e.l.f. Beauty stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.61, for a total transaction of $282,852.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 186,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,944,379.46. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joshua Allen Franks sold 1,496 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.61, for a total transaction of $175,944.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 120,471 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,594.31. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 327,207 shares of company stock worth $25,252,926. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ELF shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $70.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $113.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on e.l.f. Beauty from $70.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $123.38.

e.l.f. Beauty Company Profile

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of inclusive, accessible, clean, vegan and cruelty free cosmetics and skin care products. The company focuses on the e-commerce, national retailers and international business channels. Its brands include elf, elf skin, WELL People and KEYS soulcare.