Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Given New $112.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $112.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 0.12% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on PFG. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down from $98.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.40.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG stock traded up $0.99 on Monday, hitting $111.86. 80,040 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,506,652. 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 has a 12 month low of $75.00 and a 12 month high of $112.45. The stock has a market cap of $24.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $104.72 and a 200 day moving average of $96.07.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFG. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $998,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,473,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,630,000 after buying an additional 16,171 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,400,000. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,650,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

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.