UBS Group AG Decreases Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

UBS Group AG decreased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 52.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 959,342 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,064,538 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $84,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PFG. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,970,000 after purchasing an additional 636,334 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 84.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,103,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,856,000 after purchasing an additional 506,841 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 199.1% during the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 637,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,843,000 after purchasing an additional 424,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1,173.8% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 411,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,333,000 after purchasing an additional 379,552 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $109,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 91,108 shares in the company, valued at $9,201,908. This represents a 1.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,652 shares of company stock worth $368,414 in the last 90 days. 1.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG opened at $101.09 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $21.84 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $74.83 and a fifty-two week high of $101.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $92.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.33. 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 (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, 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.