Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 143,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,027 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $12,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3,754.5% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,080 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $109,080.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 91,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,201,908. The trade was a 1.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,652 shares of company stock worth $368,414. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $101.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $74.83 and a 52-week high of $101.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.20. The company has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company 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 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.33.

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.