Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Trims Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA lowered its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,063 shares during the quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 343.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3,754.5% in the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock opened at $100.50 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.00 and a 52-week high of $103.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.78. 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 capitalization of $21.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PFG. Barclays upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In related news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at $7,816,056.88. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 17,572 shares of company stock worth $1,776,769 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.13% 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.