National Pension Service Purchases 406,427 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 309.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 537,896 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 406,427 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $57,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 9,526.5% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 38,301,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,128,119,000 after purchasing an additional 37,903,473 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $2,157,181,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,991 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,886,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,187,000 after purchasing an additional 119,327 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,970,000 after purchasing an additional 636,334 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFG opened at $116.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $121.18. The firm has a market cap of $24.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.86.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Principal Financial Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler lifted 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 note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.83.

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.