Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 6,389 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group by 33.4%, selling 6,389 shares and holding a remaining value of approximately $1,073,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Principal Financial Group reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.16 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.19, and plans to pay an increased quarterly dividend of $0.78 on September 26th.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Principal Financial Group, with three sell ratings, five hold ratings, and two buy ratings, while the consensus target price is currently set at $86.70.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 33.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,727 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,389 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,826 shares of the company's stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 1,380 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 684 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,803 shares of the company's stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 6,694 shares of the company's stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $75.00 target price (up previously from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.70.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of PFG opened at $77.64 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.58. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The company has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 62.78%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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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