Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.2%, now owning 199,878 shares valued at approximately $16.86 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.08% of Principal Financial Group's stock, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.
• Principal Financial Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.78, yielding 3.9%, up from the previous dividend of $0.76.

Raymond James Financial Inc. cut its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 199,878 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,507 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Principal Financial Group worth $16,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the fourth 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $47,986,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11,781.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478,715 shares of the company's stock worth $40,389,000 after buying an additional 474,686 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5,081.7% in the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 404,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,166,000 after purchasing an additional 397,138 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PFG shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $80.51. 974,695 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,392,479. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $79.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.35. The firm has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. 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.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 62.78%.

Principal Financial Group 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.