Insider Selling: Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Insider Sells 9,183 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Director Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares at an average of $101.26 (≈$929,871), reducing their stake by 10.63% to 77,188 shares (≈$7.82M) in a May 1 SEC-filed transaction.
• Earnings & market reaction: PFG reported Q1 EPS of $2.07 (beat $2.01) but revenue missed at $3.53B vs. $4.11B expected, and the stock traded down about 1.7% to $99.33 on the report.
• Dividend increase and analyst view: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 (annualized $3.28, yield ~3.3%, up from $0.80) while analysts maintain an overall "Hold" consensus with a $95.33 average price target.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wee Yee Cheong also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, April 29th, Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,080 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $109,080.00.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of PFG traded down $1.76 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $99.33. The stock had a trading volume of 329,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,624,737. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $101.90.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PFG. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday. Two 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 data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.33.

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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