Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 130,191 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,855 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $10,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,602,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,844,000 after purchasing an additional 152,774 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,905,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,393,000 after buying an additional 39,854 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,157,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,747,000 after acquiring an additional 200,056 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,903,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,301,000 after acquiring an additional 53,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 692,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,786,000 after acquiring an additional 43,190 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PFG. Citigroup increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PFG opened at $84.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.19. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.21 and a fifty-two week high of $88.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $80.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.96%.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.