23,394 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Bought by OP Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• OP Asset Management Ltd opened a new position in Principal Financial Group, buying 23,394 shares valued at about $2.11 million. The filing also shows institutional ownership remains high, with funds and hedge funds holding 75.08% of the stock.
• Insiders sold shares during the quarter, including General Counsel George Djurasovic and insider Wee Yee Cheong, with total insider sales reaching 28,317 shares worth about $2.88 million. Insider ownership is now just 1.13%.
• Principal Financial Group reported Q1 EPS of $2.07, beating estimates, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share. The stock was trading at $107.75, near its 52-week high, while analysts currently rate it a Hold on average.

OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 23,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,108,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $998,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,473,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,386 shares of the company's stock worth $4,630,000 after acquiring an additional 16,171 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,400,000. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,650,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 over the last quarter. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $107.75 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.88. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $112.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.39. 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 (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "hold" rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.90.

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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