26,978 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Bought by Claro Advisors Inc.

Claro Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,380,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 343.6% in the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $32,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In related news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,854,259.88. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 in the last 90 days. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG opened at $110.22 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.00 and a fifty-two week high of $112.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $101.15 and a 200 day moving average of $94.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $23.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PFG shares. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays raised 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 note on Friday, April 24th. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued 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 an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.