Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,065 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,689 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 114.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,866 shares of the company's stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 38,295 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $776,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.8%

PFG stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.93. 790,428 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,327,473. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.59. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $91.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 65.10%.

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.