Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 38.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 125,276 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,970 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Principal Financial Group worth $9,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 66.3% in the second quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 90,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,128,000 after buying an additional 35,891 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 38,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,083,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 681,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,092,000 after acquiring an additional 35,900 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 101.7% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 8,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 26.2% in the second quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 5,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler set a $94.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In other news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total transaction of $160,470.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $84.82 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $90.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.15. The company has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 46.00%.

Principal Financial Group Profile

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.