Voleon Capital Management LP Acquires 42,887 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

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 raised its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 94.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,413 shares of the company's stock after acquiring 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 reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $312,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $220,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,008 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised 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 valued at $145,318,000 after acquiring an additional 209,885 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock worth $114,726,000 after purchasing an additional 627,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,728 shares of the company's stock worth $123,917,000 after purchasing an additional 20,221 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Principal Financial Group stock traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $82.70. The company had a trading volume of 985,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,583. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.99.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 period last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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 target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus 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.