Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 82.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,684 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,557 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Management Corp VA boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 19.2% during the third quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 172,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,322,000 after acquiring an additional 27,857 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 41.5% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 127,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,504,000 after acquiring an additional 37,357 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.8% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 170,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,152,000 after acquiring an additional 13,795 shares during the period. National Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $998,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the third quarter valued at $924,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $104.57 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $105.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.85.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.10.

Insider Activity

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

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.