Wee Yee Cheong Sells 9,183 Shares of Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Stock

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Thursday, April 30th, Wee Yee Cheong sold 4,737 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.01, for a total transaction of $478,484.37.
• 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 Price Performance

PFG stock opened at $100.87 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.00 and a 52 week high of $101.90. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PFG. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 343.6% in the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.