Insider Selling: Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Insider Sells $478,484.37 in Stock

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 4,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.01, for a total transaction of $478,484.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 86,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,724,334.71. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Friday, May 1st, Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The shares were 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 0.7%

NASDAQ PFG opened at $101.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $103.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.63. The company has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of 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. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,617,000 after buying an additional 1,083,991 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 23.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,970,000 after acquiring an additional 636,334 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $273,276,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,079,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,674,000 after acquiring an additional 55,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,498,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,416,000 after acquiring an additional 135,631 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by 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.