9,048 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Acquired by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Key Points

• Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired 9,048 shares of Principal Financial Group, valued at approximately $763,000, as reported in their recent 13F filing with the SEC.
• The stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a consensus target price of $86.30.
• Principal Financial Group's stock performance shows a market capitalization of $18.17 billion and a recent trading price of $81.05.

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock worth $312,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $217,021,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock worth $114,726,000 after purchasing an additional 627,865 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 11,781.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478,715 shares of the company's stock worth $40,389,000 after purchasing an additional 474,686 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5,081.7% in the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 404,953 shares of the company's stock worth $34,166,000 after purchasing an additional 397,138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up previously from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. 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 note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.30.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $80.33. 389,501 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,390,794. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.63 and a 200 day moving average of $79.93. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.