HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Cuts Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• HBK Sorce Advisory LLC cut its stake in Principal Financial Group by 82.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,557 shares and leaving it with 2,684 shares worth about $261,000.
• Principal Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.07, beating Wall Street estimates, though revenue of $3.53 billion came in below expectations. Analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with an average target price of $98.10.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share from $0.80, implying an annualized yield of about 3.1%. Meanwhile, several insiders sold shares recently, including the general counsel and another executive.

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC decreased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 82.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,684 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,557 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Management Corp VA raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 19.2% in the third quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 172,736 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,322,000 after buying an additional 27,857 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 41.5% in the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 127,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,504,000 after buying an additional 37,357 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 8.8% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 170,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,152,000 after buying an additional 13,795 shares during the period. National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $998,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $924,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.10.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $104.57 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.85. The firm has a market cap of $22.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.00 and a 12-month high of $105.00.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 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 approximately $7,816,056.88. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Principal Financial Group Company 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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