Groupama Asset Managment Acquires Shares of 21,535 Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 21,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 97,149 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,617,000 after buying an additional 1,083,991 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,970,000 after acquiring an additional 636,334 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $227,098,000. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 62.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,800,000 after acquiring an additional 776,997 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,998,660. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of PFG opened at $85.90 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $97.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 16.09%.

Principal Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 60.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PFG shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.11.

Principal Financial Group 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.