Deanna Strable-Soethout Sells 8,025 Shares of Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Stock

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) CEO Deanna Strable-Soethout sold 8,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.56, for a total transaction of $742,794.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,019,251.12. This represents a 12.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.8%

PFG stock opened at $92.23 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $93.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.41.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $92.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 160.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 48,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after buying an additional 30,118 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $297,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 98.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,486,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 1,048.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 697,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,849,000 after purchasing an additional 637,001 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.