Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Decreases Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lessened its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 44.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,728 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,639 shares during the quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PFG. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,473,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $998,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after acquiring an additional 16,171 shares during the period. LBP AM SA purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $10,400,000. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,650,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup lowered Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.60.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ PFG opened at $111.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.00 and a fifty-two week high of $113.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 over the last three months. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.