Sciencast Management LP Boosts Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 55.2%, acquiring 14,305 additional shares, and now holds a total of 40,224 shares valued at approximately $3,394,000.
• Several institutional investors have significantly raised their holdings in Principal Financial Group, including Goldman Sachs with a 114.2% increase, bringing their total to 2,613,143 shares worth $220,471,000.
• Principal Financial Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.76, with a yield of 3.9%.

Sciencast Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 55.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,224 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,305 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PFG. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock worth $312,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 114.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,613,143 shares of the company's stock worth $220,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,008 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased 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 purchasing an additional 627,865 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $47,986,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 443.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 645,431 shares of the company's stock worth $53,597,000 after purchasing an additional 526,701 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PFG traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $82.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 985,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,583. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The business's fifty day moving average is $79.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.99.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 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 business earned $1.63 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus 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.