Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Acquires 81,464 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 393,629 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,464 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $34,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3,754.5% during the 4th quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 87.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 136,828 shares in the company, valued at $12,998,660. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,965 shares of company stock valued at $2,352,460. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.22.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $88.94 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $91.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.09. The company has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $97.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 16.09%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter.

Principal Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.72%.

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.