Norges Bank Takes $273.28 Million Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,098,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,276,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.4%

PFG opened at $103.31 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $96.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $22.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.88. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.00 and a one year high of $105.00.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. 1.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.10.

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.