PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab Purchases 9,685 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• PensionDanmark increased its Principal Financial Group stake by 150.2% in the second quarter, purchasing 9,685 shares and bringing its holdings to 16,135 shares worth approximately $1.74 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.08% of PFG.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $105.83, despite target increases from several brokerages and Piper Sandler’s “Overweight” rating.
• Principal Financial Group exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.50 EPS versus a $2.33 estimate, and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.84 per share, representing a 3.0% annualized yield.

PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 150.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,135 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,685 shares during the period. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company's stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 11.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 96.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company's stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 37,957 shares of the company's stock worth $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Evercore set a $108.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.4%

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $113.81 on Tuesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.15 and a 12 month high of $116.61. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $110.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.28. The company has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 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.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 company earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PFG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source