Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Increases Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund more than doubled its stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter, adding 116,878 shares to bring its total to 229,903 shares worth about $20.3 million.
• Principal Financial Group reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.07 per share, though revenue came in below analyst estimates at $3.53 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share from $0.80, implying a 3.0% annualized yield.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 103.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 229,903 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 116,878 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned about 0.10% of Principal Financial Group worth $20,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 96.2% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.1% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ PFG opened at $110.59 on Tuesday. 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 $112.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50 day moving average is $100.35 and its 200 day moving average is $93.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.92%.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business'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 directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 over the last 90 days. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "hold" rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.10.

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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