Kerusso Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Kerusso Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 174.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,822 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,287 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group makes up about 2.1% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $4,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted 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 buying an additional 1,083,991 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 62.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 23.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,970,000 after acquiring an additional 636,334 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 84.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,103,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,856,000 after acquiring an additional 506,841 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 199.1% in the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 637,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,843,000 after acquiring an additional 424,231 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In other news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,713,260.16. The trade was a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Bank of America lowered 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 research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.44.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $97.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $91.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.59. The company has a market capitalization of $21.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.54 and a 12-month high of $98.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 16.09%. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.72%.

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.