223,450 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Bought by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 223,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,526,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.10% of Principal Financial Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 37,800.0% during the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 163.4% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $88.54 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $92.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $19.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $87.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.03.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total transaction of $160,470.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,924,041.84. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $27,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,758,310. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $92.89.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.