74,417 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Bought by AMG National Trust Bank

Key Points

• AMG National Trust Bank purchased 74,417 shares of Principal Financial Group, valued at approximately $8.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.08% of the company.
• Principal Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.50, exceeding analysts’ $2.33 estimate, while revenue of $3.99 billion fell short of the $4.11 billion consensus forecast.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.84 per share, equivalent to an annualized dividend of $3.36 and a yield of approximately 2.9%. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $105.83.

AMG National Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,021,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company's stock worth $982,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,886,509 shares of the company's stock worth $350,187,000 after buying an additional 119,327 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company's stock worth $279,970,000 after acquiring an additional 636,334 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $273,276,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,079,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,674,000 after acquiring an additional 55,669 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.83.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ PFG opened at $113.98 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.15 and a 12 month high of $116.61. The company's fifty day moving average price is $111.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.90.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%.The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 46.59%.

Principal Financial Group Profile

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.

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