USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 22,100 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group by 43.9% in the first quarter, now holding 28,254 shares worth approximately $2.38 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes significantly, with Victory Capital Management Inc. boosting its holdings by 802.2% to over 3.7 million shares valued at $312.8 million.
• Principal Financial Group announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.76 to $0.78 per share, reflecting a 3.9% yield and a payout ratio of 62.78%.

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 43.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,254 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,100 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFG. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 30,607 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,369,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 240.8% in the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 5,739 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $696,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 57,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,445,000 after purchasing an additional 3,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 9,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler raised 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 note on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group raised 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 note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.8%

PFG stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $82.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 985,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,583. 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 $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 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 simple moving average is $79.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.93.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a positive change 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 of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 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.