Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $746,000 in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $746,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 26.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 62,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,000 after purchasing an additional 12,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of PFG stock opened at $86.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $92.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.64. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $97.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 7.58%.The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 60.72%.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 144,168 shares in the company, valued at $13,713,260.16. This trade represents a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.11.

Principal Financial Group 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.