Assetmark Inc. Has $1.82 Million Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 104.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,227 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,325 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 343.6% during the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $109.40 on Friday. 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 $23.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.88. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $114.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $108.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.37.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 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 the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902. 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.