National Wealth Management Group LLC Invests $998,000 in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,970,000 after purchasing an additional 636,334 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,098,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,800,000 after purchasing an additional 776,997 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,791,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,213,000 after purchasing an additional 654,408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.11.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $88.72 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $97.88. The company has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 7.58%.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.72%.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $884,616.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,713,260.16. This trade represents a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460 over the last quarter. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.