Sivia Capital Partners LLC Invests $617,000 in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 6,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $617,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 11.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 96.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.1% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 37,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,015,000 after buying an additional 3,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of PFG stock opened at $103.51 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $97.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.65. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $105.00. The company has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.88. 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 (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.92%.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group 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 value of $929,870.58. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on PFG shares. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.10.

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.