North Star Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG – Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 388,746 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,375 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group accounts for approximately 1.4% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned 0.17% of Principal Financial Group worth $34,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 62.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,800,000 after buying an additional 776,997 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,615,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,951,000 after buying an additional 33,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 84.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,103,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,856,000 after buying an additional 506,841 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.
Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group
In other news, 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,854,259.88. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
View Our Latest Analysis on Principal Financial Group
Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%
NASDAQ PFG opened at $103.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.32. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $104.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.89.
Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG – Get Free Report) last released 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 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 the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.78%.
Principal Financial Group 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.
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