Comerica Bank Purchases 26,579 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 64.1%, acquiring an additional 26,579 shares to hold 68,027 shares worth about $6.00 million at quarter-end.
• Insider selling activity: Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,080 shares and General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares, and insiders have sold a total of 3,652 shares (≈$368,414) in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with about 1.13% ownership.
• Principal raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 (annualized $3.28, ~3.3% yield), and its latest quarter reported EPS of $2.07 (beating estimates) while revenue missed at $3.53 billion versus $4.11 billion expected.

Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 64.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,027 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,579 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $6,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,800 shares of the company's stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 907 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the company's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,080 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $109,080.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 91,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,201,908. The trade was a 1.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was 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 $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 3,652 shares of company stock worth $368,414 in the last 90 days. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.33.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.3%

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $100.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.24 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.57 and a 1 year high of $101.54. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $92.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.20.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.78%.

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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