Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Raises Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 408,534 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,905 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $36,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 343.6% in the 4th quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $107.75 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.00 and a 12-month high of $112.45. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $103.37 and a 200 day moving average of $95.33.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 46.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was 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 directly owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,816,056.88. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lowered Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.90.

Principal Financial Group 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.