Barclays PLC Has $55.54 Million Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Barclays PLC lowered its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 15.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 669,856 shares of the company’s stock after selling 119,004 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.30% of Principal Financial Group worth $55,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,345,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,172,018,000 after purchasing an additional 97,149 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,991 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $227,098,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,740,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,675,000 after purchasing an additional 139,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 57.6% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 9,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $884,616.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 144,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,713,260.16. The trade was a 6.06% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460 in the last ninety days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PFG shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.11.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $90.61 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.57. The stock has a market cap of $19.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.39 and a 12 month high of $97.88.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.03). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Principal Financial Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.010-9.260 EPS. Research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 60.72%.

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.