Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by Pinion Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Pinion Investment Advisors LLC sold 48.4% of its holdings in Principal Financial Group, reducing its shares from 23,042 to 11,882, valued at approximately $944,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Multiple research firms raised their price targets for Principal Financial Group shares, with targets set at $90.00 to $94.00 and varying ratings from "overweight" to "underweight," reflecting mixed analyst sentiment.
• Principal Financial Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.78 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.8%, while the company posted an earnings per share of $2.16 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates.

Pinion Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 48.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,882 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,160 shares during the quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PFG. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler set a $94.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $88.60.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.1%

PFG stock opened at $82.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.73. The firm has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

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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