Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC

Key Points

• UBS AM reduced its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.7%, selling 68,762 shares, and now owns approximately 1.8 million shares valued at $152.58 million.
• Principal Financial Group recently reported earnings per share of $2.16 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.19, with a dividend increase to $0.78 per share announced for payment on September 26th.
• Institutional investors continue to show strong interest in Principal Financial Group, with several firms significantly increasing their stakes during the first quarter of the year.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC decreased its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,808,484 shares of the company's stock after selling 68,762 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 0.81% of Principal Financial Group worth $152,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 27,536 shares of the company's stock worth $2,323,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 1,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 684 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PFG shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG stock traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $81.84. 195,722 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,378,833. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $79.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.91. 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 firm has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.78%.

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.