Sound Income Strategies LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.2%, owning approximately 248,858 shares valued at around $19.77 million.
• Principal Financial Group recently reported earnings of $2.16 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share.
• Analysts have varying price targets for PFG, with JPMorgan Chase setting the highest target of $101.00, while the consensus rating is currently "Reduce" with an average target price of $86.90.

Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 248,858 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,241 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group makes up about 1.1% of Sound Income Strategies LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Sound Income Strategies LLC owned about 0.11% of Principal Financial Group worth $19,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,269,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $943,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company's stock worth $44,433,000 after buying an additional 13,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock worth $312,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,608 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of PFG opened at $82.62 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The company's fifty day moving average is $79.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.70. The firm has a market cap of $18.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 62.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PFG. UBS Group increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of 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, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.90.

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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