Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,843 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,406 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 358.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 12,768 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 37,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 11,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.6 %

PFG stock opened at $86.07 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $85.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -95.63, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -324.44%.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.