Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 466,133 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 215,045 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $40,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,905,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,393,000 after purchasing an additional 39,854 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,903,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,301,000 after buying an additional 53,516 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 27.2% in the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 540,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,404,000 after buying an additional 115,569 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 478,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,509,000 after acquiring an additional 2,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.2% during the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 420,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,107,000 after acquiring an additional 35,461 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $85.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The firm has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $86.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.34.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently -320.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

About Principal Financial Group

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.