VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Has $35.03 Million Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 78.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holding to 397,100 shares worth about $35.0 million.
• Principal Financial Group reported Q1 earnings of $2.07 per share, beating estimates, though revenue of $3.53 billion came in below expectations. Analysts currently rate the stock a Hold on average, with a consensus price target of $95.33.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share from $0.80, implying an annualized dividend of $3.28 and a yield of about 3.3%.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 78.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 397,100 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 174,100 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.18% of Principal Financial Group worth $35,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Hartford Investment Management Co. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 15,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 12,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 4,483 shares in the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.33.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $100.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $93.03 and its 200-day moving average is $90.23. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $103.00.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The company 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.78%.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at $7,816,056.88. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 17,572 shares of company stock worth $1,776,769 over the last quarter. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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