Deanna Strable-Soethout Sells 300 Shares of Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Stock

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) CEO Deanna Strable-Soethout sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $27,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 62,252 shares in the company, valued at $5,758,310. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $90.23. 644,535 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 971,847. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.39 and a 12 month high of $92.51. The firm has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 559.8% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 73,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,185,000 after acquiring an additional 62,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 17.0% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 4,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PFG. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $91.60.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.