Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Makes New Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 14,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,277,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $32,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3,754.5% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the sale, the insider owned 77,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,572 shares of company stock worth $1,776,769. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG opened at $100.53 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $93.41 and its 200-day moving average is $90.60. The stock has a market cap of $21.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $103.00.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

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.