Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Sold by OLD National Bancorp IN

OLD National Bancorp IN lessened its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 73.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,063 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PFG. RIA Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% during the 4th quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,964 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $318,836,000 after purchasing an additional 575,646 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 60.5% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,210,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,305,000 after purchasing an additional 456,455 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $30,290,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $22,726,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.4 %

PFG stock opened at $79.12 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.17 and a twelve month high of $86.79. The company has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results 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). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.70%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is an increase 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 3.49%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.67%.

Principal Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase 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 shares are undervalued.

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.