Ethic Inc. Reduces Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 18.2% during the first quarter, owning 31,053 shares worth approximately $2.64 million after selling 6,912 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Victory Capital Management and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group, significantly increased their stakes in Principal Financial Group during the same period.
• Principal Financial Group reported earnings of $2.16 per share, surpassing analysts' consensus expectations, and announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, reflecting a 4.0% yield.

Ethic Inc. lowered its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,053 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,912 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,608 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,318,000 after acquiring an additional 209,885 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,726,000 after acquiring an additional 627,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,917,000 after acquiring an additional 20,221 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG stock traded up $1.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.66. The company had a trading volume of 725,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,403,853. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $78.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.97 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 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PFG shares. Piper Sandler upped 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 cut their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.90.

About Principal Financial Group

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.