Vest Financial LLC Buys 17,937 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC acquired 17,937 shares of Principal Financial Group valued at approximately $2.0 million, while institutional investors collectively own 75.08% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with three Buy, six Hold, and three Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $108.67.
• Principal Financial Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.50, beating estimates of $2.33, while revenue of $3.91 billion fell short of the $4.11 billion consensus forecast.

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,008,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $2,157,181,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,264,856 shares of the company's stock worth $1,106,346,000 after acquiring an additional 85,014 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,819,452 shares of the company's stock worth $794,721,000 after acquiring an additional 420,319 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,886,509 shares of the company's stock worth $350,187,000 after acquiring an additional 119,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,216,125 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,854,000 after acquiring an additional 244,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFG. Barclays dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $112.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.67.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFG opened at $108.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $112.27 and a 200 day moving average of $108.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.45 and a 1-year high of $121.18.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc is a global financial services company that helps individuals and businesses build, protect and manage wealth. Its offerings include retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, investment products, life and disability insurance, and financial wellness solutions. The company also provides institutional investment management and pension-risk transfer services.

Principal serves employers, institutions and individual investors through a range of retirement and workplace benefits solutions.

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