Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 30,072 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 27.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,640 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,072 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $7,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,473,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $998,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,630,000 after purchasing an additional 16,171 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,400,000. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,650,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $113.95 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $107.26 and its 200 day moving average is $97.65. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.00 and a 12-month high of $114.90. 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 stock has a market cap of $24.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PFG shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price (down from $98.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore set a $108.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.83.

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.