Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 226,718 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,574 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $20,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 343.6% during the 4th quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.08.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

NASDAQ PFG opened at $109.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.03. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.00 and a 52 week high of $114.90.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

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.