Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Reduces Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA cut its Principal Financial Group stake by 57% in the first quarter, selling 14,628 shares and leaving it with 11,050 shares worth about $996,000.
• Insiders also sold shares recently, including Wee Yee Cheong and General Counsel George Djurasovic; insiders have sold a total of 28,317 shares worth about $2.88 million over the past 90 days.
• Principal Financial Group beat earnings expectations with Q1 EPS of $2.07 versus estimates of $2.01, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 from $0.80, implying a 3.0% yield.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 57.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,050 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,628 shares during the period. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 14.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the transaction, the insider owned 66,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 in the last ninety days. 1.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $110.87 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.00 and a 12 month high of $112.45. The business's 50-day moving average price is $104.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.07.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFG. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.90.

Principal Financial Group 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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