Amundi Sells 222,941 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Amundi has sold 222,941 shares of Principal Financial Group, reducing its stake by 16.4%, leaving it with approximately 0.51% of the company valued at about $90 million.
• Victory Capital Management significantly increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the same quarter, now owning over 3.7 million shares worth approximately $313 million.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.78 per share, up from $0.76, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.9%.

Amundi trimmed its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,136,838 shares of the company's stock after selling 222,941 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.51% of Principal Financial Group worth $90,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $943,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,433,000 after buying an additional 13,483 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,805,000 after buying an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of PFG stock traded up $0.36 on Tuesday, hitting $80.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,025,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,385,505. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $79.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.07.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 62.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.90.

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.