Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Price Target Raised to $114.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $114.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

PFG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down from $98.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.60.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $111.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $24.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $105.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.71. Principal Financial Group has a 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $113.86.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 9.37 EPS for the current 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 positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 46.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 over the last three months. 1.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.