The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Posted by Stanley Muller on Aug 4th, 2026

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG – Free Report) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. 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 SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,473,000. LBP AM SA purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,400,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 1,219.5% in the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 51,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,516,000 after purchasing an additional 47,316 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,650,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,639,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,603,000 after purchasing an additional 23,686 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $115.13 on Tuesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.33 and a 1-year high of $115.71. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $109.40 and a 200-day moving average of $99.40.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PFG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.83.

Read Our Latest Analysis on PFG

Principal Financial Group Profile

(Free Report)

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.