Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 16.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,378 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,868 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $7,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth $281,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $114,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 66.2% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 9,933 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,911,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 123,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,648,000 after buying an additional 16,954 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PFG. Piper Sandler upgraded 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. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.75.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of PFG opened at $77.30 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -85.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is -324.44%.

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.