Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Price Target Raised to $112.00 at Morgan Stanley

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $112.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price (down from $98.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.90.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock traded up $1.03 on Monday, hitting $113.58. 45,015 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,502,621. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $105.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $75.00 and a one year high of $113.81.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFG. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 57.3% in the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 38,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,812 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Groupe la Francaise raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.2% in the first quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 48,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,415,000 after buying an additional 3,716 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.