Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Principal Financial Group stake by 94.2% in the second quarter, selling 99,225 shares and retaining 6,152 shares worth approximately $663,000. Institutional investors collectively own 75.08% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy, seven Hold, and three Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $105.83. PFG recently traded at $113.98, near its 52-week high.
• Principal Financial Group exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.50 in EPS versus a $2.33 consensus estimate, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, equivalent to a 2.9% annual yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 94.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,152 shares of the company's stock after selling 99,225 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the company's stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 14.8% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 921 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company's stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.8% in the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 4,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.83.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock opened at $113.98 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.15 and a 52-week high of $116.61. The stock's 50 day moving average is $111.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.84. The company has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 EPS 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 in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. Analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.59%.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group 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.

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