Foster & Motley Inc. Makes New Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Foster & Motley Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 29,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,192,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.9% during the 1st 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 period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 37,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,015,000 after buying an additional 3,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,854,259.88. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $113.14 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $111.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.18. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.34 and a 12-month high of $116.61. The company has a market cap of $24.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

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.