Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich Sells 13,357 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich reduced its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 17.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,847 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,357 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $5,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 343.6% in the 4th quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (down from $98.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at $7,816,056.88. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 value of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.9%

PFG opened at $110.74 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $113.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.88. 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 price of $105.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.55.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.92%.

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.