North Star Asset Management Inc. Invests $39.94 Million in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management acquired 370,523 shares of Principal Financial Group worth approximately $39.94 million, making PFG its 14th-largest holding and representing 1.6% of its portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 75.08%, with BlackRock initiating a position worth $2.16 billion and Bank of America increasing its stake by 9.6%.
• Principal Financial Group beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $2.50 versus $2.33 expected and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average target price of $106.67.

North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 370,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,935,000. Principal Financial Group makes up about 1.6% of North Star Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned 0.17% of Principal Financial Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth $2,157,181,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $982,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,886,509 shares of the company's stock worth $350,187,000 after purchasing an additional 119,327 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company's stock worth $279,970,000 after purchasing an additional 636,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $273,276,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of PFG opened at $112.17 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $116.61. The company has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $111.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Principal Financial Group Company 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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