Chase Investment Counsel Corp Invests $7.41 Million in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 68,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,411,000. Principal Financial Group makes up approximately 1.6% of Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PFG. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Group lifted its position 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 worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.83.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $113.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company’s 50-day moving average is $111.33 and its 200-day moving average is $100.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.15 and a fifty-two week high of $116.61.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 posted $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 46.59%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.