Interval Partners LP Sells 34,971 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Interval Partners LP reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group by 30.7% in the 1st quarter, owning 79,024 shares valued at $6.67 million.
• Principal Financial Group's quarterly dividend was increased to $0.78 per share, marking an annualized yield of 3.8%, with the next payment scheduled for September 26th.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Principal Financial Group, with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $86.90, following various recent adjustments from different financial institutions.

Interval Partners LP lessened its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 30.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,024 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,971 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $6,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 251,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,202,000 after acquiring an additional 11,521 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 443.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 645,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,597,000 after acquiring an additional 526,701 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,943,000 after acquiring an additional 2,623 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 27,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,323,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 209,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,675,000 after acquiring an additional 8,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Principal Financial Group stock traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,125,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,390,460. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.10. The company has a market cap of $17.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 62.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $86.90.

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.