Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 30,072 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group by 27.7% in the first quarter, selling 30,072 shares and leaving it with 78,640 shares worth about $7.09 million.
• Principal Financial Group reported Q1 earnings of $2.07 per share, topping estimates, though revenue of $3.53 billion came in below expectations. The company also posted solid profitability metrics, including a 16.25% return on equity.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share from $0.80, implying an annualized payout of $3.28 and a yield of 2.9%.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 27.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,640 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,072 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $7,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company's stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 96.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 37,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $113.95 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.00 and a 52-week high of $114.90. The company has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $107.26 and a 200-day moving average of $97.65.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for 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 last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFG. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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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