Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 14,307 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,931 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,307 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,172,018,000 after buying an additional 97,149 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth $227,098,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,740,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,675,000 after acquiring an additional 139,953 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 114.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,613,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,008 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group

In related news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,924,041.84. This represents a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.2%

PFG stock opened at $89.38 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.95 and its 200 day moving average is $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $92.10.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis 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 payout ratio is presently 46.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.70.

Principal Financial Group 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.