Insider Selling: Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Insider Sells $330,925.66 in Stock

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 3,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total transaction of $330,925.66. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,069.62. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wee Yee Cheong also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, May 21st, Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44.
• On Thursday, April 30th, Wee Yee Cheong sold 4,737 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.01, for a total transaction of $478,484.37.
• On Friday, May 1st, Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58.
• On Wednesday, April 29th, Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,080 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $109,080.00.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $103.85 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.00 and a 52-week high of $104.68. The stock has a market cap of $22.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $94.61 and its 200-day moving average is $91.38. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The business 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 last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $273,276,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 112.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,348,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,138,000 after buying an additional 1,244,668 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 62.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,800,000 after acquiring an additional 776,997 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note 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 objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays increased 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.