Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 26,624 Shares of Sabre Co. (NASDAQ:SABR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Sabre Co. (NASDAQ:SABR) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,981,450 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 26,624 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.60% of Sabre worth $8,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sabre by 1,258.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,020 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 3,724 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Sabre in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Sabre in the first quarter worth $43,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sabre by 147.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,171 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 4,277 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sabre in the first quarter worth $48,000. 99.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SABR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Sabre from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $3.50 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, May 15th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Sabre in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Sabre from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of Sabre in a research note on Friday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sabre has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.75.

Insider Activity at Sabre

In related news, insider Sean E. Menke sold 100,000 shares of Sabre stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total value of $501,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,867,340 shares in the company, valued at $9,355,373.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Sabre news, insider Sean E. Menke sold 100,000 shares of Sabre stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.01, for a total transaction of $501,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,867,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,355,373.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael O. Randolfi acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.38 per share, for a total transaction of $269,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 546,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,940,309.88. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 175,000 shares of company stock worth $936,250 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Sabre Stock Performance

Shares of Sabre stock opened at $5.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.11 and a beta of 1.83. Sabre Co. has a 52-week low of $2.99 and a 52-week high of $7.92. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.13.

Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The information technology services provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $737.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $704.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sabre Co. will post -0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sabre Profile

Sabre Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides software and technology solutions for the travel industry worldwide. It operates in two segments, Travel Solutions and Hospitality Solutions. The Travel Solutions segment operates a business-to-business travel marketplace that offers travel content, such as inventory, prices, and availability from a range of travel suppliers, including airlines, hotels, car rental brands, rail carriers, cruise lines, and tour operators with a network of travel buyers comprising online and offline travel agencies, travel management companies, and corporate travel departments.