AE Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 170,695 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,795 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $14,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $227,098,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,617,000 after buying an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 57.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,791,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,213,000 after buying an additional 654,408 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised 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 buying an additional 637,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 111.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 901,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,618,000 after acquiring an additional 475,269 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock opened at $94.76 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.04 and a 200-day moving average of $83.57. The company has a market cap of $21.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. 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 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $95.40.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 8,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.56, for a total value of $742,794.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,019,251.12. This represents a 12.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total transaction of $160,470.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,924,041.84. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,212 shares of company stock worth $931,014. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective 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, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $92.88.

Principal Financial Group 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.