Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 10,100 Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 10,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $910,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 343.6% during the 4th quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $110.87 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.00 and a fifty-two week high of $112.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $104.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.07.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PFG shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.90.

Insider Activity

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 over the last quarter. 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.