Candriam S.C.A. Decreases Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. has reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. by 28.5% during the first quarter, now holding 16,758 shares valued at $1,414,000.
• Principal Financial Group reported earnings of $2.16 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and it has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.78.
• Hedge funds and institutional investors currently own approximately 75.08% of Principal Financial Group's stock, indicating strong investment interest in the company.

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 28.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,758 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,666 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $55,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $943,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company's stock worth $44,433,000 after purchasing an additional 13,483 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock worth $312,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $80.72 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.45. The company has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PFG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.