Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Purchased by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

Key Points

• AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 896,710 shares valued at about $79.1 million. Institutional investors still hold a large majority of the stock, at 75.08%.
• Analysts are mostly cautious on PFG, with an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $95.33. Several firms recently trimmed or slightly raised targets, but the overall view remains mixed.
• Principal Financial Group beat quarterly EPS expectations at $2.07, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share from $0.80. The stock opened at $100.77 and is near its 52-week high of $103.00.

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 896,710 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 78,751 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.40% of Principal Financial Group worth $79,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 343.6% during the 4th quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3,754.5% in the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on PFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "hold" rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.33.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.3%

PFG stock opened at $100.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.53. The company has a market capitalization of $21.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $103.00.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 45.78%.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 77,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 17,572 shares of company stock valued at $1,776,769 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

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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