Board of the Pension Protection Fund Acquires 14,200 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Board of the Pension Protection Fund lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 315.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,700 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,200 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group accounts for about 1.6% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Board of the Pension Protection Fund’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $227,098,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,800,000 after acquiring an additional 776,997 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 654,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1,048.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 697,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,849,000 after acquiring an additional 637,001 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFG shares. Weiss Ratings raised Principal Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.11.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $85.90 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.39 and a 12 month high of $97.88. The company has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 7.58%.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 60.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,828 shares in the company, valued at $12,998,660. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,965 shares of company stock valued at $2,352,460. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.