Assetmark Inc. Raises Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. more than doubled its stake in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter, increasing holdings by 104.3% to 20,227 shares worth about $1.82 million.
• Principal Financial Group beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.07 EPS versus the $2.01 consensus, though revenue of $3.53 billion came in below estimates.
• Despite some analyst target increases, Wall Street’s view remains mixed with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $105, while insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 104.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,227 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,325 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.9%

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $109.40 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $108.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.88. 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 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $114.90.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was 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 $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.00.

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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