Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Acquired by Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,154 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 188 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1,072.3% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 3,903 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 326,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,661,000 after purchasing an additional 27,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 8,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 3,731 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.30.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.21. 784,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 983,162. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.17 and a 12-month high of $86.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.79.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.67%.

Principal Financial Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.