USS Investment Management Ltd Cuts Stake in 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 trimmed its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 43.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFG. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $312,805,000 after buying an additional 3,296,608 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth about $47,986,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 443.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 645,431 shares of the company's stock worth $53,597,000 after purchasing an additional 526,701 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 11,781.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478,715 shares of the company's stock worth $40,389,000 after purchasing an additional 474,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 5,081.7% during the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 404,953 shares of the company's stock worth $34,166,000 after purchasing an additional 397,138 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report 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 stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of PFG traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.70. 985,971 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,383,583. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.06. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 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.