The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 278 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Boston Beer were worth $12,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SAM. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Boston Beer by 88.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 81 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Boston Beer in the third quarter valued at about $56,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Boston Beer in the third quarter valued at about $59,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Boston Beer by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Boston Beer in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. 81.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Carolyn L. O’boyle sold 101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.49, for a total value of $30,652.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,231.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Boston Beer Price Performance

NYSE:SAM opened at $260.75 on Friday. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.06 and a 1-year high of $395.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $287.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $323.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.03.

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.96. The firm had revenue of $426.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $414.18 million. Boston Beer had a net margin of 4.60% and a return on equity of 10.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Boston Beer Company, Inc. will post 10.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SAM. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Boston Beer from $257.00 to $250.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Boston Beer in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Boston Beer from $350.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Boston Beer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $335.00 to $360.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Boston Beer from $285.00 to $275.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $333.93.

About Boston Beer

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.