Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group by 36.9% during the first quarter, leaving it with 10,708 shares valued at approximately $903,000.
• Principal Financial Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.78, up from $0.76, representing a yield of 4.07%.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with three rating it a sell, five a hold, and two a buy, leading to a consensus target price of $86.90.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 36.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,708 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,271 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,074,000 after buying an additional 52,410 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $312,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,546,000 after purchasing an additional 326,604 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,318,000 after purchasing an additional 209,885 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,726,000 after purchasing an additional 627,865 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of PFG stock traded down $2.30 on Friday, reaching $75.53. 1,753,362 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,429,678. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business's 50 day moving average price is $78.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.92. The company has a market capitalization of $16.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.19. 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 company earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up previously from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.90.

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.