Wee Yee Cheong Sells 1,887 Shares of Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Stock

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total value of $160,470.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,924,041.84. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $85.23. The stock had a trading volume of 270,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,352,219. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $90.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.59.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 46.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler set a $94.00 target price on Principal Financial Group and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 37,800.0% during the 2nd quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.