Legal & General Group Plc Acquires 23,686 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 23,686 more shares and bringing its total holding to 1,639,302 shares worth about $144.6 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on PFG remains mixed, with analysts holding an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $98.10.
• Principal Financial Group recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share from $0.80, while its latest earnings beat EPS expectations but missed revenue estimates.

Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,639,302 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,686 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.74% of Principal Financial Group worth $144,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 22.3% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "hold" rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.10.

Insider Activity

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the transaction, the insider owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. 1.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $103.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.00 and a 1 year high of $105.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $96.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.00. The stock has a market cap of $22.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 45.78%.

About Principal Financial Group

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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