Conning Inc. Lowers Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Conning Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 409,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,796 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc. owned about 0.18% of Principal Financial Group worth $33,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the 1st 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 7.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 6.1% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 65,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,566,000 after acquiring an additional 3,771 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $92.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total value of $160,470.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,924,041.84. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,758,310. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $91.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $92.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.77.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. Analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Principal Financial Group Profile

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.