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

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

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $90.20 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $20.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $86.93 and a 200 day moving average of $82.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $227,098,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,800,000 after acquiring an additional 776,997 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,791,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,213,000 after purchasing an additional 654,408 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1,048.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 697,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,849,000 after purchasing an additional 637,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target 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.