Wee Yee Cheong Sells 3,211 Shares of Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Stock

Key Points

• Insider selling: Principal Financial Group insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 3,211 shares on May 20 at an average price of $103.06, totaling about $330,926. The sale reduced the insider’s stake by 4.16%, and several additional sales were disclosed around the same period.
• Stock and earnings update: PFG rose 0.4% to $104.32, near its 52-week high of $104.68. The company recently reported quarterly EPS of $2.07, beating analyst expectations of $2.01, though revenue came in below forecasts.
• Dividend and analyst views: Principal Financial Group increased its quarterly dividend to $0.82 from $0.80, implying a 3.1% annualized yield. Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $98.10.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 3,211 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.06, for a total transaction of $330,925.66. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 73,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,624,069.62. This represents a 4.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

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

• On Thursday, May 21st, Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44.
• On Thursday, April 30th, Wee Yee Cheong sold 4,737 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.01, for a total transaction of $478,484.37.
• On Friday, May 1st, Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58.
• On Wednesday, April 29th, Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,080 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $109,080.00.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ PFG traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $104.32. 112,495 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,548,079. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.00 and a one year high of $104.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.23. The stock has a market cap of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analysts' expectations 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 last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 45.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated 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 shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday. Three research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company's stock worth $982,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,886,509 shares of the company's stock worth $350,187,000 after purchasing an additional 119,327 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 636,334 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,276,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,079,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,674,000 after acquiring an additional 55,669 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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