Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its Principal Financial Group stake by 366.1% in the first quarter, adding 39,930 shares for a total holding worth approximately $4.58 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.08% of PFG.
• Principal Financial Group reported quarterly earnings of $2.50 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.33, though revenue of $3.99 billion fell short of the $4.11 billion estimate.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.84 per share, implying a 3.0% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $105.75, below the stock’s reported $113.73 opening price.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 366.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,838 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 39,930 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $4,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PFG. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of PFG opened at $113.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.00 and a 52 week high of $114.95. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $109.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%.The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 46.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.75.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.

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.