Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 73,756 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 13.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 624,468 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 73,756 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of Principal Financial Group worth $51,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PFG. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5,533.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 37,800.0% in the 2nd quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $90.98 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $92.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $87.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.82.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total value of $160,470.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,924,041.84. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $27,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,252 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PFG. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $92.89.

Principal Financial Group Company Profile

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.