Baird Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. by 12.5% during the first quarter, owning 38,198 shares valued at approximately $3.22 million.
• Principal Financial Group recently reported earnings of $2.16 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a dividend increase from $0.76 to $0.78 per share.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Principal Financial Group, with Victory Capital Management boosting its stake by 802.2% in the first quarter.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,198 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,462 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,318,000 after purchasing an additional 209,885 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,726,000 after purchasing an additional 627,865 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,917,000 after purchasing an additional 20,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,062,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,221,000 after purchasing an additional 85,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $79.98 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.37 and a 200 day moving average of $79.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $17.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. 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 3.9%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 62.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $86.90.

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.

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