Inceptionr LLC Trims Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Inceptionr LLC trimmed its stake by 73.8% in Principal Financial Group in Q3, selling 21,356 shares and finishing the period with 7,581 shares valued at $629,000.
• Principal Financial raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80 ( $3.20 annualized), implying a 3.6% yield; the dividend is payable March 27 with a record/ex-dividend date of March 11.
• The CEO sold 9,300 shares (and insiders sold a total of 24,965 shares worth $2.35M in the past 90 days), while hedge funds and institutional investors own about 75.08% of the stock.

Inceptionr LLC lessened its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 73.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,581 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,356 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $746,000. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 15,893 shares of the company's stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $144,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 182.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,334 shares of the company's stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,821 shares of the company's stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 2,721 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $89.73 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $92.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.63. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $97.88. The company has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.03). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Principal Financial Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.010-9.260 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 60.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,713,260.16. This represents a 6.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PFG. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.11.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.

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