Estate Counselors LLC Purchases New Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Estate Counselors LLC acquired 22,708 shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter, valued at approximately $2.05 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.08% of PFG.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105. JPMorgan, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley recently raised their targets, while retaining neutral or underweight ratings.
• Principal Financial Group exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.50 per share versus the $2.33 consensus estimate, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, implying a 3.0% annualized yield.

Estate Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,046,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $108.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 25,746 shares of company stock worth $2,625,668 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock opened at $111.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.00 and a 12-month high of $114.90. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $108.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.57.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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