Brookstone Capital Management Boosts Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 432.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,876 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,895 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $998,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,473,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after acquiring an additional 16,171 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $10,400,000. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,650,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 over the last ninety days. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $105.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.00 and a fifty-two week high of $112.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.25.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PFG shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.90.

Principal Financial Group 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.