Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 43.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,334 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,568 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $998,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,473,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after purchasing an additional 16,171 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,400,000. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,650,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PFG. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.90.

Insider Activity

In other Principal Financial Group news, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 77,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 28,317 shares of company stock valued at $2,884,902 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $108.93 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.00 and a twelve month high of $112.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $23.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.78.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 46.92%.

Principal Financial Group 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.