Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Acquired by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 5.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 644,800 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $58,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,473,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $998,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after buying an additional 16,171 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,400,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1,219.5% during the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 51,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,516,000 after buying an additional 47,316 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 over the last 90 days. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.08.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $109.57 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $114.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $107.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.03. The company has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.