Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Vishay Precision Group, Inc. $VPG

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG) by 50.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,909 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 5,983 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Vishay Precision Group were worth $257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VPG. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Vishay Precision Group by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,522 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Vishay Precision Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 67,724 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. raised its holdings in Vishay Precision Group by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 10,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Vishay Precision Group during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 1,180.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VPG shares. Zacks Research cut Vishay Precision Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on Vishay Precision Group from $63.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Lake Street Capital increased their target price on Vishay Precision Group from $54.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Vishay Precision Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Vishay Precision Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.67.

Vishay Precision Group Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of VPG opened at $92.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 204.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $120.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.01. Vishay Precision Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.58 and a fifty-two week high of $151.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 4.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $84.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.08 million. Vishay Precision Group had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 2.28%. Analysts forecast that Vishay Precision Group, Inc. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Vishay Precision Group Profile

Vishay Precision Group (NYSE: VPG) specializes in the design, manufacture and calibration of precision sensors, instrumentation and measurement systems used in a broad range of applications. Its product portfolio includes load cells, tension links, weighing modules, torque transducers, digital indicators and data acquisition systems. These solutions serve critical requirements for accuracy, reliability and repeatability in sectors such as industrial automation, test and measurement, medical devices, food and beverage processing, aerospace and defense.

The company traces its roots to the sensor and measurement division of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc, from which it was spun off as an independent public company in March 2016.