Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Grows Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 42.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,596 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,801 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 4.8% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 251,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,202,000 after buying an additional 11,521 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $244,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 62,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,235,000 after acquiring an additional 4,625 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 23.6% during the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 5,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $90.88 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $92.20. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.33.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 46.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. 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. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $90.90.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In related news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total transaction of $160,470.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,924,041.84. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Principal Financial Group

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.