First Pacific Financial Buys 269 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 91.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 564 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the quarter. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $44,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,028,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,953,000 after buying an additional 150,598 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,146,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $769,531,000 after purchasing an additional 258,621 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 67.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,514,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,825,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816,343 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,836,000 after buying an additional 575,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,113,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,986,000 after purchasing an additional 43,319 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $83.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.18.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $86.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.17 and a 12 month high of $86.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.06.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.13. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 112.65%.

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.