Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 9,871 Shares of Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 615,468 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,871 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Super Micro Computer worth $21,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SMCI. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Super Micro Computer by 902.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 992 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Super Micro Computer by 233.0% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Super Micro Computer during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Super Micro Computer during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Super Micro Computer during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 84.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Charles Liang sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $13,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 66,903,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,010,663,800. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO David E. Weigand sold 67,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.02, for a total transaction of $2,949,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,900,127.98. The trade was a 43.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 667,000 shares of company stock valued at $29,949,340. Insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Super Micro Computer from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Super Micro Computer in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "underperform" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Northland Securities set a $59.00 target price on shares of Super Micro Computer in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Super Micro Computer from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Super Micro Computer in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Super Micro Computer currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.88.

Super Micro Computer Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:SMCI traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $50.36. 33,182,968 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 68,645,442. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49 and a beta of 1.43. The business's 50 day moving average is $42.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.34. The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 6.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Super Micro Computer, Inc. has a one year low of $17.25 and a one year high of $96.33.

Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. Super Micro Computer had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Super Micro Computer, Inc. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Super Micro Computer Profile

Super Micro Computer, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures high performance server and storage solutions based on modular and open architecture in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. Its solutions range from complete server, storage systems, modular blade servers, blades, workstations, full racks, networking devices, server sub-systems, server management software, and security software.