Deanna Strable-Soethout Sells 300 Shares of Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Stock

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) CEO Deanna Strable-Soethout sold 300 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $27,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,252 shares in the company, valued at $5,758,310. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $89.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $92.51.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,269,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.4% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $297,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 98.0% during the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 4,276 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,486,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $92.70.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.