Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Raises Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 1,173.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 411,887 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 379,552 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $36,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PFG. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 3,754.5% during the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 87.9% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 136,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,998,660. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,965 shares of company stock valued at $2,352,460. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.22.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $87.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $97.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.15.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued 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 return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 7.58%.The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter.

Principal Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given 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 dividend yield of 3.7%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.