Econ Financial Services Corp Takes $3.96 Million Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Econ Financial Services Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 44,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,962,000. Principal Financial Group accounts for about 2.0% of Econ Financial Services Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3,754.5% during the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 87.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 2.1%

PFG stock opened at $90.11 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.34. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $97.88.

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

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 60.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PFG. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on 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 lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,168 shares in the company, valued at $13,713,260.16. The trade was a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

About Principal Financial Group

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.