National Pension Service Boosts Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 1.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 388,046 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,609 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $32,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $227,098,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 57.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,791,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,213,000 after purchasing an additional 654,408 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1,048.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 697,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,849,000 after purchasing an additional 637,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 111.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 901,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,618,000 after purchasing an additional 475,269 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PFG. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $92.88.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $96.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $96.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.48 and its 200 day moving average is $83.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $697,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,998,660. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total value of $160,470.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,924,041.84. This trade represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 26,852 shares of company stock valued at $2,512,930. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.