Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $5.08 Million Stock Holdings in Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,777 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,749 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of Artivion worth $5,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Artivion by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 358,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,241,000 after buying an additional 8,343 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Artivion during the 4th quarter worth $275,000. Amundi boosted its position in Artivion by 174.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 18,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 11,634 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Artivion during the fourth quarter worth $310,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Artivion by 77.5% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 8,165 shares during the last quarter. 86.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AORT. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Artivion to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Artivion in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.40.

Artivion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AORT opened at $31.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of -62.95 and a beta of 1.62. Artivion, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.97 and a 52 week high of $32.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.80 and its 200-day moving average is $27.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a current ratio of 5.53.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $98.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.81 million. Artivion had a negative net margin of 5.49% and a positive return on equity of 3.63%. Sell-side analysts predict that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Artivion

In other news, Director Anthony B. Semedo sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.47, for a total transaction of $74,022.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,059 shares in the company, valued at $941,189.73. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 26,132 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.44, for a total transaction of $743,194.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 79,200 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,448. This trade represents a 24.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,954 shares of company stock valued at $2,108,525. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

About Artivion

Artivion, Inc manufactures, processes, and distributes medical devices and implantable human tissues worldwide. The company provides BioGlue, a polymer consisting of bovine blood protein and an agent for cross-linking proteins for cardiac, vascular, neurologic, and pulmonary procedures; cardiac preservation services; PhotoFix, a bovine pericardial patch; and aortic arch stent grafts including E-vita Open Plus and E-vita Open Neo.