<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in  Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor  purchased 14,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,277,000.</p><p>Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in  Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $982,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,991 shares in the last quarter.  Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in  Principal Financial Group by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,376,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,970,000 after purchasing an additional 636,334 shares in the last quarter.  UBS Group AG increased its holdings in  Principal Financial Group by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,800,000 after purchasing an additional 776,997 shares in the last quarter.  Legal &amp; General Group Plc increased its holdings in  Principal Financial Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal &amp; General Group Plc now owns 1,615,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,951,000 after purchasing an additional 33,490 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in  Principal Financial Group by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,103,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,856,000 after purchasing an additional 506,841 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. </p><h2>Wall Street Analyst Weigh In</h2><p>A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette &amp; Woods  reissued a &#34;hold&#34; rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a &#34;neutral&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo &amp; Company decreased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore  set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued  a Hold rating and one  has issued  a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group  has an average rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and an average price target of $95.33.</p><p><b>Check Out Our Latest Report on Principal Financial Group</b></p><h2>Insider Transactions at Principal Financial Group</h2><p>In related news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 9,183 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $929,870.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,816,056.88. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel George Djurasovic sold 2,571 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.83, for a total value of $259,233.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 21,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,208,781.98. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 17,572 shares of company stock valued at $1,776,769 over the last quarter. Insiders own  1.13% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Principal Financial Group Stock Performance</h2><p>NASDAQ:PFG opened at $100.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.00 and a 1-year high of $103.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $93.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.60. The stock has a market cap of $21.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89. </p><p>Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 10.10%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share.  On average, research analysts expect that  Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend</h2><p>The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 45.78%. </p><h2>Principal Financial Group Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>Principal Financial Group <span>NASDAQ: PFG<span></span></span> 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.  </p><p>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.</p><h2>Read More</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Principal Financial Group</li><li>3 Stocks to Own If Gas Prices Keep Rising</li><li>3 Crucial Aerospace Component Makers That Analysts Love</li><li>Alphabet's Googlebook Brings Gemini AI to PC Hardware</li><li>Peloton Stock Gives Back Gains After Upbeat Earnings Report</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9UEZH?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9UEZH"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Principal Financial Group Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Principal Financial Group, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Principal Financial Group wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Principal Financial Group currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired 14,475 shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) valued at approximately $1.3 million in Q4. Other institutional investors, including Bank of America and Invesco, also increased their stakes. Analysts have mixed ratings on PFG, with an average price target of $95.33. Recent insider sales were reported, and the stock opened at $100.53, with a 1-year range of $75.00 to $103.00.</p>

Market Beat

Principal Financial

Bank of America

Invesco

UBS Group AG

Morgan Stanley

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Evercore

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BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION INCOME CAPITAL OBLIG NTS DUE 15/12/2066

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Bank of America Corp

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WELLS FARGO & COMPANY 7.5% PERP CONV PRF CLS 'A' SERIES 'L'

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Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Purchases New Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG