PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG – Free Report) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 214,410 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,438 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Principal Financial Group worth $15,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 4,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 4,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. 70.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price target for the company from $82.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.18.
Read Our Latest Analysis on PFG
Principal Financial Group Stock Performance
PFG opened at $80.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.25. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.17 and a 52-week high of $91.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.84 and its 200-day moving average is $75.26.
Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 4.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 109.39%.
Principal Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
Principal Financial Group Company 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 Global Investors, Principal International, and U.S. Insurance Solutions segments.
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