Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 41,714 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management trimmed its stake in Principal Financial Group by 41,714 shares in the fourth quarter, but still held 5.58 million shares worth about $489.9 million.
• Insider selling continued, with General Counsel George Djurasovic and insider Wee Yee Cheong both selling shares in recent transactions; insiders sold 28,317 shares worth about $2.88 million over the last 90 days.
• Principal Financial Group beat quarterly EPS estimates with earnings of $2.07 per share versus $2.01 expected, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share from $0.80.

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,575,729 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,714 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.50% of Principal Financial Group worth $489,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PFG. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 96.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.1% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 37,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,015,000 after buying an additional 3,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $103.62 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.00 and a 12-month high of $105.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.14.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 3.2%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.10.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.