Nordea Investment Management AB Has $3.98 Million Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 160.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,902 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,118 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,098,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of 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 worth $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 57.6% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,791,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,213,000 after acquiring an additional 654,408 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1,048.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 697,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,849,000 after acquiring an additional 637,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 111.5% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 901,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,618,000 after purchasing an additional 475,269 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $88.48 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $87.55 and its 200 day moving average is $82.92. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $92.51.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $27,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 62,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,758,310. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Principal Financial Group

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.