Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 41,511 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 71.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,995 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,511 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 144.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 540 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PFG shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $79.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The business's 50 day moving average price is $77.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.52. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.98. The company has a market cap of $17.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). 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 company earned $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.10%.

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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