Analysts Set Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) Target Price at $100.90

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $100.90.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PFG shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 the firm’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 trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 in the last three months. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $108.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.78. Principal Financial Group has a twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $112.45.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.92%.

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.