US Bancorp DE Sells 3,126 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE has reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group by 12.8%, selling 3,126 shares during the second quarter, which brought their holdings to 21,311 shares valued at approximately $1.69 million.
• Principal Financial Group recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.76 to $0.78 per share, yielding 3.9%, with a payout ratio of 62.78%.
• Analysts have revised their price targets for Principal Financial Group, with estimates ranging from $73.00 to $101.00, while the consensus target price is set at $88.60.

US Bancorp DE decreased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,311 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,126 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 40.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,674 shares of the company's stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,645 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $943,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 16.8% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 7.8% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the company's stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $80.90 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.63 and a 200-day moving average of $78.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $88.60.

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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