UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Sells 68,762 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

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 cut its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 approximately 0.81% of Principal Financial Group worth $152,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PFG. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $312,805,000 after buying an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 114.2% in the 1st 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,986,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 443.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 645,431 shares of the company's stock worth $53,597,000 after buying an additional 526,701 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 11,781.7% in the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.8%

PFG stock opened at $82.70 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.97. 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 firm has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.41 and a 200 day moving average of $79.04.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $86.90.

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.

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