SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 33.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 327,360 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,649 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $29,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFG. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 343.6% during the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $112.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.88. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.00 and a one year high of $112.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.97.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.13% 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.