California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG – Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 397,874 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,623 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $35,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 4,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.75.
Principal Financial Group Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $113.73 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.00 and a fifty-two week high of $114.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.88.
Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.
Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.59%.
Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group
In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.
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.
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