Cresset Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Cresset Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 70.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,917 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,179 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company's stock worth $422,074,000 after buying an additional 52,410 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company's stock worth $283,546,000 after acquiring an additional 326,604 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock worth $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,507 shares of the company's stock worth $112,129,000 after acquiring an additional 44,818 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.54.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $81.70 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $78.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.15. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $91.98. The company has a market cap of $18.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 65.10%.

Principal Financial Group Profile

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.

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