Conning Inc. Has $32.53 Million Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Conning Inc. trimmed its stake in Principal Financial Group by 10% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 368,763 shares worth about $32.5 million.
• Principal Financial Group insiders sold shares recently, including an executive and the general counsel, while institutional ownership remains high at 75.08% of the stock.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates with $2.07 per share and also raised its dividend to $0.82 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.3%.

Conning Inc. lessened its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 368,763 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,101 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Principal Financial Group worth $32,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $133,951,000 after purchasing an additional 33,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $90,856,000 after purchasing an additional 506,841 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,816,056.88. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,572 shares of company stock valued at $1,776,769. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $100.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $103.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $93.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.53.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America decreased their target price on 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. Barclays upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Two research 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 a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.33.

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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