Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,639 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,074,000 after purchasing an additional 52,410 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,546,000 after purchasing an additional 326,604 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,534,000 after purchasing an additional 118,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,726,000 after purchasing an additional 627,865 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PFG opened at $77.35 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.01. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.98.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 65.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.85.

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.