Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $699,000 Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in Principal Financial Group by 98.9% in Q4, selling 689,813 shares and leaving 7,922 shares valued at about $699,000.
• CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares on Jan. 29 for roughly $884,616, and insiders have sold a total of 24,965 shares (~$2.35M) in the past three months, with insiders now owning 1.08% of the stock.
• Brokerage coverage is mixed: the stock has an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus target of $94.22 (2 Buys, 7 Holds, 1 Sell), though several firms recently raised their price targets.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 98.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,922 shares of the company's stock after selling 689,813 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 87.9% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 511 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $884,616.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,713,260.16. The trade was a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460 in the last three months. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFG. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.22.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ PFG opened at $90.08 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $97.88. The stock has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 7.58%.The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 60.72%.

About Principal Financial Group

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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