Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its stake in Principal Financial by 26.2% in Q4, selling 51,027 shares and leaving it with 143,954 shares valued at about $12.7 million; overall institutional ownership stands at roughly 75.08%.
• Principal reported a quarterly EPS beat of $2.07 vs. $2.01 consensus but missed on revenue ($3.53B vs. $4.11B), and the stock trades near its 12‑month high with a market cap of $21.9 billion and a P/E of 14.46.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 (annualized $3.28) for a 3.2% yield with an ex‑dividend/record date in early June, while analysts' consensus rating is a Hold with an average target of $95.33.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,954 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,027 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.06% of Principal Financial Group worth $12,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 23.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company's stock worth $279,970,000 after acquiring an additional 636,334 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 62.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company's stock worth $167,800,000 after acquiring an additional 776,997 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,615,616 shares of the company's stock worth $133,951,000 after acquiring an additional 33,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 84.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,103,565 shares of the company's stock worth $90,856,000 after acquiring an additional 506,841 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $101.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.83 and a 12 month high of $101.90. 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 simple moving average of $92.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.20.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,080 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $109,080.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 91,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,201,908. This trade represents a 1.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,652 shares of company stock valued at $368,414. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "hold" rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. 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 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.