Sciencast Management LP Boosts Stock Position 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 boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 55.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Voleon Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 94.2% in the first quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP now owns 88,413 shares of the company's stock worth $7,459,000 after acquiring an additional 42,887 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 114.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,613,143 shares of the company's stock worth $220,471,000 after buying an additional 1,393,008 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 23.6% during the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 5,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 268.2% during the first quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 17,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 12,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scientech Research LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 58.8% during the first quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 10,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 3,904 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $79.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business's 50 day moving average price is $79.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.10. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $91.97. The stock has a market cap of $17.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio 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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