Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 73,389 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 90.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,477 shares of the company's stock after selling 73,389 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,602,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $569,844,000 after acquiring an additional 152,774 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,905,124 shares of the company's stock worth $306,393,000 after acquiring an additional 39,854 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,903,138 shares of the company's stock worth $149,301,000 after acquiring an additional 53,516 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 692,694 shares of the company's stock worth $59,786,000 after acquiring an additional 43,190 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 478,129 shares of the company's stock worth $37,509,000 after acquiring an additional 2,487 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.18. The company had a trading volume of 858,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,170,181. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.79 and a 52 week high of $91.97. The stock has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a PE ratio of -91.31, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.30. The business's 50 day moving average price is $84.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.87.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently -320.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFG. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Raymond James raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $99.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.