Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,049 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,254 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $14,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $110.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.03. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.00 and a 52 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 company has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.