Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.38 Billion Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Vanguard Group slightly trimmed its stake in Principal Financial Group by 0.6% to 26,969,104 shares, representing about a 12.11% ownership worth roughly $2.38 billion.
• Principal reported quarterly EPS of $2.07 versus $2.01 expected (a beat) while revenue of $3.53 billion missed the $4.11 billion consensus.
• The board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.82 (from $0.80), implying a $3.28 annualized payout and a ~3.3% yield; the ex-dividend date is June 1 and payment is June 26.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,969,104 shares of the company's stock after selling 162,252 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.11% of Principal Financial Group worth $2,378,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth $32,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3,754.5% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 315.7% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 424 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "hold" rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.33.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In other news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $697,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,998,660. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $99.63 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $92.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.24. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.21 and a 52-week high of $101.54. The stock has a market cap of $21.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.The company had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 45.78%.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group NASDAQ: PFG is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm's business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal's product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.

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