Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,886,509 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 119,327 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.80% of Principal Financial Group worth $350,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (down from $98.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.08.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock opened at $109.57 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.88. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.00 and a 12-month high of $114.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $107.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.03.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The sale 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 that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 in the last three months. Corporate 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.