Principal Financial Group on Tuesday reported second-quarter net income of $361.8 million, or $1.32 per share, compared with $398.3 million, or $1.45 per share, for the year-ago quarter. Non-GAAP operating earnings of $467.3 million contributed to first-half non-GAAP operating earnings that were 23% higher than the first half of 2020, the Des Moines-based company said in a press release. “Second quarter results were led by strong performance in our global asset management business, the successful integration of the retirement business from the [Wells Fargo] Institutional Retirement and Trust acquisition, and encouraging fundamentals in many of our businesses as COVID-19 impacts continue to lessen,” said Dan Houston, president, CEO and chairman. Principal recently announced changes for its business portfolio and capital management strategy, part of which involves returning more capital to shareholders. “In the first half of the year, we’ve returned over $683 million to shareholders including $266 million of share repurchases in the second quarter,” Houston said. “Additionally, we announced a 2 cent, or 3%, increase in our third quarter common stock dividend over second quarter 2021. Between 2021 and 2022, excluding proceeds from any transactions, we anticipate deploying approximately $3 billion to shareholders.”