Legato Capital Management LLC Invests $721,000 in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFGFree Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 343.6% in the 4th quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3,754.5% in the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 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 company insiders.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $103.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.53. 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 $104.68.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFGGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. Analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. 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 presently 45.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.10.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Principal Financial Group

About Principal Financial Group

(Free Report)

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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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG)

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