Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Given New $107.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $107.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.63% from the stock’s previous close.

PFG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.10.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG stock traded up $0.44 on Thursday, reaching $103.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 63,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,554,033. Principal Financial Group has a 52 week low of $75.00 and a 52 week high of $103.44. The company has a market capitalization of $22.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,816,056.88. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,572 shares of company stock valued at $1,776,769. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

About Principal Financial Group

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.