Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,049 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 306 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Check Point Software Technologies were worth $5,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,527,700 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $912,070,000 after acquiring an additional 114,938 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 10.5% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,108,685 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $677,869,000 after buying an additional 391,983 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Check Point Software Technologies by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,836,799 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $354,153,000 after buying an additional 177,104 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,133,175 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $218,488,000 after buying an additional 252,581 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Check Point Software Technologies by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,094,887 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $211,105,000 after acquiring an additional 464,821 shares during the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CHKP. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Check Point Software Technologies from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lowered Check Point Software Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Check Point Software Technologies from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.05.

Check Point Software Technologies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CHKP opened at $186.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.79. Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. has a 12-month low of $145.75 and a 12-month high of $210.70.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The technology company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25. Check Point Software Technologies had a net margin of 33.17% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The company had revenue of $635.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $634.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Check Point Software Technologies

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. develops, markets, and supports a range of products and services for IT security worldwide. The company offers a multilevel security architecture, cloud, network, mobile devices, endpoints information, and IOT solutions. It provides Check Point Infinity Architecture, a cyber security architecture that protects against fifth generation cyber-attacks across various networks, endpoint, cloud, workloads, Internet of Things, and mobile.