Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Position Cut by New York State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• The New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 11.3% during Q2, selling 20,385 shares and owning approximately $12.7 million in stock as of its latest filing.
• Principal Financial Group reported $2.16 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations and marking an increase from $1.63 in the same quarter last year.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its target price on Principal Financial Group to $101.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating, while the stock has an average target price of $88.60 from various analysts.

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,940 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,385 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.07% of Principal Financial Group worth $12,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 7.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 27,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,323,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 1,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.0% during the second quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $78.63 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $91.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.73 and a 200-day moving average of $78.47. The company has a market capitalization of $17.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler set a $94.00 target price on Principal Financial Group and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $88.60.

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.

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