Board of the Pension Protection Fund Purchases 14,200 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Board of the Pension Protection Fund raised its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 315.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,700 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,200 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group makes up about 1.6% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Board of the Pension Protection Fund’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Management Corp VA raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 19.2% in the third quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 172,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,322,000 after purchasing an additional 27,857 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 160.3% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 48,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 30,118 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 41.5% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 127,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,504,000 after buying an additional 37,357 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth $18,526,000. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,486,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 136,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,998,660. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,965 shares of company stock valued at $2,352,460. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.9%

PFG stock opened at $85.90 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $97.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.87.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 7.58%.The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFG. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.11.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

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.