Aberdeen Group plc Purchases 88,100 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. by 113.5%, acquiring an additional 88,100 shares, bringing its total ownership to 165,700 shares valued at approximately $13.87 million.
• Principal Financial Group recently reported earnings per share of $2.16, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.97, and announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.78 per share.
• Institutional investors collectively own 75.08% of Principal Financial Group's stock, with notable recent purchases from various hedge funds such as Victory Capital Management and GAMMA Investing LLC.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 113.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,700 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 88,100 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of Principal Financial Group worth $13,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,726,000 after acquiring an additional 627,865 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,986,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 11,781.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,389,000 after acquiring an additional 474,686 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5,081.7% during the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 404,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,166,000 after acquiring an additional 397,138 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.1%

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $77.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.49 and a 200 day moving average of $79.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, 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 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 released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $77.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.90.

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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