Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 2,121,265 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group by 50.6%, holding about 2,070,573 shares worth approximately $174.69 million.
• Principal Financial Group will increase its quarterly dividend to $0.78, reflecting an annual yield of 4.0% and a payout ratio of 62.78%.
• The company reported earnings of $2.16 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.97.

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 50.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,070,573 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,121,265 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.92% of Principal Financial Group worth $174,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $34,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PFG. UBS Group raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler increased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG traded up $2.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,250,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,407,295. The firm has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.39 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.45.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. 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.