568,757 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Acquired by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a significant stake in Principal Financial Group, purchasing 568,757 shares valued at approximately $47.9 million in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Principal Financial Group, with recent price target adjustments ranging from $72.00 to $101.00, indicating varying confidence in the stock's performance.
• The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.78, reflecting continued financial strength, with a yield of 4.0%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 568,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,986,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.25% of Principal Financial Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $55,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth $943,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company's stock worth $44,433,000 after acquiring an additional 13,483 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,805,000 after buying an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (up previously from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.70.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.3%

PFG opened at $78.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.39 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $78.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.61. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.78%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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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