George Djurasovic Sells 2,571 Shares of Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) Stock

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the general counsel directly owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,208,781.98. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

George Djurasovic also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, April 30th, George Djurasovic sold 1 shares of Principal Financial Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.63, for a total transaction of $99.63.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $101.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $74.83 and a one year high of $101.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.20. 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 data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. grew its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.33.

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.