Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holding to 812,064 shares worth about $71.7 million. Institutional investors overall own about 75.08% of the company.
• Principal Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.07, topping analyst expectations, though revenue of $3.53 billion came in below estimates. The company also posted solid profitability with a 16.25% return on equity.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share from $0.80, implying an annualized payout of $3.28 and a 3.0% yield. Analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating on the stock with an average target price of $100.90.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 812,064 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,356 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.37% of Principal Financial Group worth $71,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 19,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $109,000. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 3,802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,208,781.98. The trade was a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,317 shares of company stock worth $2,884,902. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $110.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $104.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.03. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.00 and a 12 month high of $112.45. The company has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 46.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on PFG. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore set a $108.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target (down from $98.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.90.

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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