Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 40,851 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services trimmed its Q4 stake in Principal Financial Group by 7.3%, selling 40,851 shares and now holding 520,463 shares (~0.23% of the company) worth about $45.9M.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — CEO Deanna D. Strable‑Soethout sold 7,340 shares on Jan. 30, insiders disposed of 24,665 shares (~$2.32M) over the past three months, and now own about 1.08% of PFG.
• Analysts carry a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $93.44; PFG yields 3.4% ($0.80 quarterly), trades at a P/E of ~17.9 and has a market cap of about $20.4B.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 520,463 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,851 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.23% of Principal Financial Group worth $45,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Paragon Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Provident Living Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,462,000. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFG. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Principal Financial Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $697,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,998,660. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,665 shares of company stock worth $2,324,710. Insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG stock opened at $94.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $91.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.05. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.80 and a fifty-two week high of $97.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.87.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 16.09%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 60.72%.

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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