Conning Inc. Acquires 29,707 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Conning Inc. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 8.1% in the first quarter, buying 29,707 more shares and bringing its total holding to 398,470 shares worth about $35.9 million.
• Principal Financial Group recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share, up from $0.80, for an annualized yield of about 2.9%.
• The company reported Q1 earnings of $2.07 per share, topping estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $104.

Conning Inc. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 398,470 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,707 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group comprises about 1.2% of Conning Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Conning Inc. owned 0.18% of Principal Financial Group worth $35,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 96.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.1% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 37,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.00.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $112.23 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $113.86. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $106.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 46.92%.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total transaction of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 77,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group NASDAQ: PFG is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm's business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal's product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.

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