Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 41,714 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,575,729 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,714 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $489,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFG. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 96.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.1% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 37,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $103.62 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.00 and a 12 month high of $105.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.14. The firm has a market cap of $22.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.10.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.