Hsbc Holdings PLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.9% in the first quarter, selling 31,321 shares and ending with 780,743 shares valued at about $70.4 million.
• Insiders were net sellers, with General Counsel George Djurasovic and insider Wee Yee Cheong both trimming positions; overall, insiders sold 28,317 shares worth about $2.88 million in the last 90 days.
• Principal Financial Group posted mixed results and lifted its dividend: Q1 EPS of $2.07 beat estimates, but revenue missed forecasts. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share, implying a 2.9% yield.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 780,743 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,321 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.36% of Principal Financial Group worth $70,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PFG. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 921 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company's stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 4,451 shares of the company's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,130 shares of the company's stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $113.95 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 52-week low of $75.00 and a 52-week high of $114.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.71. The company has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Raymond James Financial lowered 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 report on Tuesday, May 19th. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.83.

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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