Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Holdings Reduced by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 7.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 105,590 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,233 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $9,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth $28,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.83.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.3%

PFG opened at $115.13 on Tuesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.33 and a one year high of $115.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $109.40 and its 200-day moving average is $99.40. The company has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.87.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%.The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

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.