Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,921 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,808 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Medpace worth $30,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MEDP. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of Medpace by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 3,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Medpace by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 2,250 shares of the company's stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Medpace by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,401,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Medpace by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 10,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,477,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Medpace by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,350 shares of the company's stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.98% of the company's stock.

Medpace Stock Performance

MEDP traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $393.30. 118,741 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 265,300. Medpace Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.39 and a 1 year high of $421.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $396.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $341.02.

Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.75. The business had revenue of $511.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $512.39 million. Medpace had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 59.74%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Medpace Holdings, Inc. will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Medpace from $453.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Medpace from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Medpace from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $282.00 to $452.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Medpace from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $340.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Medpace from $446.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Medpace presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $443.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO August J. Troendle sold 100,000 shares of Medpace stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.98, for a total transaction of $41,298,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,833,019 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,940,186.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Medpace news, CEO August J. Troendle sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.98, for a total value of $41,298,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,833,019 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,940,186.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashley M. Keating sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.87, for a total transaction of $102,467.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,467.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,224 shares of company stock valued at $65,030,941 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 20.30% of the company's stock.

Medpace Profile

Medpace Holdings, Inc provides clinical research-based drug and medical device development services in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company offers a suite of services supporting the clinical development process from Phase I to Phase IV in various therapeutic areas. It provides clinical development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries; and development plan design, coordinated central laboratory, project management, regulatory affairs, clinical monitoring, data management and analysis, pharmacovigilance new drug application submissions, and post-marketing clinical support services.