OP Asset Management Ltd Takes Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,108,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFG. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 343.6% in the fourth 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. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target (down from $98.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $107.75 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.39. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.00 and a 1 year high of $112.45.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 77,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,816,056.88. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 in the last 90 days. 1.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Principal Financial Group 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.