Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 13,965 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 509,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,965 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $45,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,473,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $998,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after purchasing an additional 16,171 shares during the period. LBP AM SA purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $10,400,000. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,650,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $112.23 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.00 and a 52 week high of $113.86. The stock has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 1.12 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.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFG. Weiss Ratings lowered Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.00.

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.