Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Purchases New Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI opened a new position in Principal Financial Group, buying 14,475 shares worth about $1.28 million in the fourth quarter.
• Principal Financial Group beat earnings expectations for the quarter, reporting $2.07 EPS versus the $2.01 consensus, though revenue of $3.53 billion came in below estimates.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share from $0.80, implying an annualized yield of about 3.3%.

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,277,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $982,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,991 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,970,000 after purchasing an additional 636,334 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,800,000 after purchasing an additional 776,997 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,615,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,951,000 after purchasing an additional 33,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,103,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,856,000 after purchasing an additional 506,841 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company 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, April 27th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.33.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the general counsel 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 17,572 shares of company stock valued at $1,776,769 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $100.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $103.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.60. The stock has a market cap of $21.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 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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