5,527 Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 357,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,527 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group accounts for about 1.2% of Conning Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $40,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $2,157,181,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,264,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,106,346,000 after purchasing an additional 85,014 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,819,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,721,000 after purchasing an additional 420,319 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,886,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,187,000 after purchasing an additional 119,327 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 12.4% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,216,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,854,000 after purchasing an additional 244,550 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFG. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price objective on Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $120.00 to $112.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, August 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.75.

Principal Financial Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Principal Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler maintained an “overweight” rating while lowering its price target to $125 from $128, implying substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. Piper Sandler price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Principal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, up from $0.84, for an annualized payout of $3.40 and an approximately 3% yield. The increase supports the stock’s income appeal. Principal dividend announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter profit increased year over year, while revenue remained broadly near expectations, providing evidence of underlying business resilience. Principal Financial Group Q3 profit rises
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS reduced its price target to $112 from $120 but retained a “neutral” rating, indicating limited near-term conviction despite the stock’s longer-term potential. UBS Principal Financial price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage focused on what the results mean for retirement savers, highlighting the importance of Principal’s retirement and asset-management operations for customers and investors. Principal results and retirement savers
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.22 per share missed the $2.46 consensus estimate. Lower investment income, higher expenses and net cash outflows from assets under management pressured results despite higher profit and revenue. PFG Q3 earnings miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that earnings were affected by asset outflows reinforce concerns about pressure on fee-based revenue and investment-management momentum. PFG Q3 earnings and asset outflows

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.1%

PFG opened at $111.84 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.00 and a twelve month high of $121.18. The firm has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.86.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.33%.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc is a global financial services company that helps individuals and businesses build, protect and manage wealth. Its offerings include retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, investment products, life and disability insurance, and financial wellness solutions. The company also provides institutional investment management and pension-risk transfer services.

Principal serves employers, institutions and individual investors through a range of retirement and workplace benefits solutions.