Man Group plc Purchases New Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Man Group initiated a position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter, purchasing 39,972 shares valued at approximately $4.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.08% of PFG.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $106.67, below the stock’s reported price of $111.41.
• Principal Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.50, beating expectations of $2.33, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.84 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.0%.

Man Group plc acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 39,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,157,181,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,473,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1,219.5% in the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 51,196 shares of the company's stock worth $4,516,000 after acquiring an additional 47,316 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,277,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,639,302 shares of the company's stock worth $144,603,000 after acquiring an additional 23,686 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ PFG opened at $111.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $111.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.07. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.90 and a 1 year high of $116.61.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 46.59%.

Principal Financial Group 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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