Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda cut its stake in Principal Financial Group by 84.1% in Q3, selling 27,210 shares and leaving 5,158 shares worth about $428,000 per its SEC filing.
• Insiders have sold a total of 24,965 shares (≈$2.35M) over the last 90 days, including CEO Deanna Strable-Soethout's sale of 9,300 shares, leaving insiders with roughly 1.08% ownership.
• Principal raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80 (annualized $3.20, ~3.6% yield), while analysts hold an average "Hold" rating with a consensus target price of about $94.11.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,158 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,210 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $144,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 182.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.5% during the third quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,821 shares of the company's stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth $1,402,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

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

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $89.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $97.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis 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 is Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 60.72%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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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