Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 10,051 Shares of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,420 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,051 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Boston Beer were worth $5,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SAM. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Boston Beer by 63.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 12,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,764,000 after acquiring an additional 4,782 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Boston Beer in the first quarter valued at about $111,000. Natixis bought a new stake in Boston Beer during the 1st quarter worth about $3,044,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of Boston Beer by 16.9% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 13,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in Boston Beer by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 16,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 81.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SAM. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $318.00 target price on shares of Boston Beer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $389.00 price target on shares of Boston Beer in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Boston Beer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Boston Beer from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Boston Beer from $300.00 to $309.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boston Beer currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.82.

Boston Beer Stock Performance

NYSE SAM opened at $309.16 on Thursday. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $254.40 and a 52 week high of $371.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $290.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.46, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.06.

Boston Beer Profile

The Boston Beer Company, Inc produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. The company's flagship beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It offers various beers, hard ciders, flavored malt beverages, and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Angel City, and Coney Island brand names.