Bank of America Corp DE Invests $741.96 Million in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired a new $741.96 million stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter, purchasing 6.88 million shares—about 3.22% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.08% of PFG.
• Principal Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.50, above the $2.33 consensus estimate, though revenue of $3.91 billion fell short of the $4.11 billion forecast.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, or $3.36 annually, implying a 2.8% yield. PFG shares opened at $118.37, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $108.83 price target.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,884,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $741,960,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 3.22% of Principal Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the company's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 921 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.8% in the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 4,451 shares of the company's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.3%

PFG opened at $118.37 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $121.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $113.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.86.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 47.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PFG. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup lowered Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.83.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1879, the company provides investment management, retirement, insurance and financial wellness solutions to businesses, individuals and institutional investors.

Principal offers employer-sponsored retirement plans, including defined contribution and defined benefit programs, as well as pension risk transfer solutions. Its insurance products and services include group benefits, individual life insurance and disability insurance.

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