Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 6,817 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,277 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,817 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Principal Financial Group worth $19,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 403.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,800,000 after buying an additional 284,067 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,698,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 503,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,367,000 after purchasing an additional 146,473 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 818.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 152,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,112,000 after purchasing an additional 136,021 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 6,593.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 132,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,356,000 after purchasing an additional 130,225 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.75.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $78.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a PE ratio of -87.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.21 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.21.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently -324.44%.

Principal Financial Group 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.