Northern Trust Corp Sells 81,722 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.2%, selling 81,722 shares and retaining approximately 3.58 million shares valued at $302.15 million.
• Principal Financial Group has raised its quarterly dividend from $0.76 to $0.78, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.12 and a dividend yield of 4.0%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with an average price target of $86.90 and a general consensus rating of "Reduce."

Northern Trust Corp cut its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,581,196 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,722 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.60% of Principal Financial Group worth $302,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $943,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,433,000 after acquiring an additional 13,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,608 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of PFG traded up $2.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $80.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,250,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,407,295. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $78.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.46.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. 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 firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 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 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 62.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on PFG shares. Barclays increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average 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.