D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 103,880 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 64.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,064 shares of the company's stock after selling 103,880 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $4,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,074,000 after purchasing an additional 52,410 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,546,000 after acquiring an additional 326,604 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock worth $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock worth $114,726,000 after acquiring an additional 627,865 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG traded down $3.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,040,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,319,451. The company's 50-day moving average price is $78.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.07. 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 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 $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PFG. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.85.

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.