Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 9,499 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 46.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,015 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,499 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 343.6% during the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Principal Financial Group 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 value of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 sale, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. 1.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on PFG shares. Barclays upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.90.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.3%

PFG stock opened at $112.88 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $113.86. 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 $105.30 and its 200-day moving average is $96.40. The firm has a market cap of $24.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

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.