Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Reduces Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lowered its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,280 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,700 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $7,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PFG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $217,021,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,726,000 after purchasing an additional 627,865 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11,781.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,389,000 after purchasing an additional 474,686 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,448,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,546,000 after purchasing an additional 326,604 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $76.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $76.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.88. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 65.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFG. Barclays lowered their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.