California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 9,526.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,301,347 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,903,473 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.18% of Principal Financial Group worth $4,128,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 11.2% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 7.7% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 6.4% in the second quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 87.2% in the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 15,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,636,000 after buying an additional 7,069 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $231,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of PFG opened at $114.02 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $112.70 and its 200 day moving average is $103.32. The company has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.86. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $121.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. Research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 47.73%.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1879, the company provides investment management, retirement, insurance and financial wellness solutions to businesses, individuals and institutional investors.

Principal offers employer-sponsored retirement plans, including defined contribution and defined benefit programs, as well as pension risk transfer solutions. Its insurance products and services include group benefits, individual life insurance and disability insurance.