SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 33.8% in Q1, ending the quarter with 327,360 shares valued at about $29.5 million.
• The company reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, posting EPS of $2.07 versus the $2.01 consensus, though revenue of $3.53 billion fell short of estimates.
• Principal Financial Group raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share from $0.80, implying an annualized yield of 2.9%.

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 33.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 327,360 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 82,649 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.15% of Principal Financial Group worth $29,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $998,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,386 shares of the company's stock worth $4,630,000 after acquiring an additional 16,171 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,473,000. LBP AM SA purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $10,400,000. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,650,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the transaction, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 in the last 90 days. 1.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.10.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.0%

PFG stock opened at $112.36 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.88. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.00 and a one year high of $112.45.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. 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. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 46.92%.

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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