Korea Investment CORP Takes Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Korea Investment CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 103,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,207,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Financial Group raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 4,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $111.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $23.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $116.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $111.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.63.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.57 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. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PFG shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley increased 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 report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on 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, Barclays lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.67.

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.