AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Takes $806,000 Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs has acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group, purchasing 10,349 shares valued at approximately $806,000.
• The company has recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.78, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.8%.
• A number of institutional investors have modified their holdings in Principal Financial Group, with 75.08% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors.

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $806,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 7.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,889 shares of the company's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 0.5% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 27,536 shares of the company's stock worth $2,323,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.9% in the first quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,826 shares of the company's stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% in the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 1,380 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 32.3% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 684 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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 increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.47. 317,209 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,376,151. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.87.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 62.78%.

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.