Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

by · The Cerbat Gem

Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG – Free Report) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 51,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,682,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,473,000. LBP AM SA bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $10,400,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1,219.5% in the 4th quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 51,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,516,000 after buying an additional 47,316 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,650,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,639,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,603,000 after buying an additional 23,686 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

NASDAQ PFG opened at $113.73 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.00 and a 52 week high of $114.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $109.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.15.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFG. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $108.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.75.

View Our Latest Research Report on PFG

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 66,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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