Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) had its target price lifted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $101.00 to $106.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 2.08% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.00.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.2%

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $108.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.88. 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 has a twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $114.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $107.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.17.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the sale, the insider owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PFG. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,886,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,187,000 after acquiring an additional 119,327 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 23.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,970,000 after acquiring an additional 636,334 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $273,276,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,079,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,674,000 after acquiring an additional 55,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% 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.