Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires 379,552 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 1,173.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 411,887 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 379,552 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.18% of Principal Financial Group worth $36,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $283,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 393,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,722,000 after purchasing an additional 81,464 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $102,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $998,000. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 52,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,650,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 144,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,713,260.16. The trade was a 6.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,965 shares of company stock valued at $2,352,460. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two investment 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.22.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $87.01 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $91.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $97.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 16.09%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.72%.

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.