Comerica Bank Acquires 26,579 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 64.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,027 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,579 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $6,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 boosted its stake 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 boosted its stake 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 boosted its stake 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. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total transaction of $109,080.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 91,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,201,908. This represents a 1.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,652 shares of company stock valued at $368,414 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of PFG opened at $100.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.57 and a 12-month high of $101.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $92.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.20.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 45.78%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.