Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by Tudor Investment Corp ET AL

Key Points

• Tudor Investment Corp. cut its position in Principal Financial Group by 97.1% in Q3, selling 190,206 shares and leaving 5,583 shares valued at about $463,000.
• Insider selling has accelerated — CEO Deanna Strable‑Soethout sold 9,300 shares (~$884,616) and insiders disposed of 24,665 shares (~$2.32M) in the past 90 days; insiders now own ~1.08% while institutions own ~75.08%.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target of $93.44, and the company pays a $0.80 quarterly dividend (3.4% yield) with a payout ratio of ~60.7%.

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lessened its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 97.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,583 shares of the company's stock after selling 190,206 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 22.3% during the 3rd 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. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,800 shares of the company's stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 907 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,429 shares of the company's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.44.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 144,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,713,260.16. The trade was a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 24,665 shares of company stock worth $2,324,710 in the last ninety days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $94.68 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $69.80 and a one year high of $97.88. 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's fifty day moving average price is $91.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.09.

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

Principal Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. 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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