Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Increases Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden more than doubled its stake in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter, increasing holdings by 120.3% to 55,401 shares worth about $5.0 million.
• Institutional ownership remains strong, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 75.08% of PFG shares, while several other investors also added to positions during recent quarters.
• Principal Financial Group reported better-than-expected EPS of $2.07 in its latest quarter and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share, giving the stock a 3.0% yield.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 120.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,401 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,250 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $4,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 14.8% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 921 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the company's stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at $7,816,056.88. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. 1.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $110.87 on Monday. 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 twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $112.45. The business's 50 day moving average price is $104.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.07. The company has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The firm 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.92%.

About Principal Financial Group

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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