Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 351,898 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,528,038 shares of the company’s stock after selling 351,898 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.67% of Principal Financial Group worth $118,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG opened at $89.04 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.67 and a 200 day moving average of $82.91. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.21 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $20.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.22.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.