Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC Invests $861,000 in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Elevation Point Wealth Partners opened a new position in Principal Financial Group, buying 9,552 shares worth about $861,000 in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with several firms adding to their stakes; the article says 75.08% of PFG shares are held by institutions.
• Principal Financial Group reported better-than-expected Q1 EPS of $2.07 and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $861,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 69.8% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 6,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 16.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 15.6% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $769,000. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 31,992 shares of the company's stock worth $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $929,870.58. Following the sale, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.40.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $112.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $24.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $105.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.23. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.00 and a one year high of $112.58. 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 (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.92%.

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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