Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Purchased by Voleon Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 94.2%, owning a total of 88,413 shares valued at approximately $7.46 million following their additional purchases in Q1.
• Principal Financial Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, up from the previous $0.76, with a current dividend yield of 3.9%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed earnings per share of $2.16, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.19, along with a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%.

Voleon Capital Management LP boosted its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 94.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,413 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,887 shares during the quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $7,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 802.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock worth $312,805,000 after buying an additional 3,296,608 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 114.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,613,143 shares of the company's stock worth $220,471,000 after buying an additional 1,393,008 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,246 shares of the company's stock worth $145,318,000 after buying an additional 209,885 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock worth $114,726,000 after buying an additional 627,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,728 shares of the company's stock worth $123,917,000 after buying an additional 20,221 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 $79.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.10. The company has a market cap of $17.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 62.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PFG. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased 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 report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $86.90.

About Principal Financial Group

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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