Kentucky Retirement Systems Increases Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 62.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,602 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,659 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 14.8% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.8% in the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 4,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ PFG opened at $113.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.24 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $108.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.05. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.00 and a 12 month high of $114.95.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.51 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, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 46.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.75.

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.