Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $6.16 Million Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,407 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,230 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $6,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 23.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,970,000 after acquiring an additional 636,334 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,276,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,079,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,674,000 after purchasing an additional 55,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,498,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,416,000 after purchasing an additional 135,631 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $929,870.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,816,056.88. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of 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 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.83.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $113.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.00 and a 12 month high of $114.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.26 and a 200-day moving average of $97.65. The company has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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