Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Purchases Shares of 209,100 Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 209,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,842,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 14.8% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $107.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $103.37 and a 200-day moving average of $95.33. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.00 and a 12 month high of $112.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

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.