Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Sold by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC lowered its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,747 shares of the company’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. abrdn plc increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 100,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,904,000 after buying an additional 41,728 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% in the fourth quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,964,000 after buying an additional 1,076,964 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 36,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,908,000 after buying an additional 5,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of PFG opened at $79.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $81.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.50. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.17 and a fifty-two week high of $86.79. 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 announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.25%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.67%.

Principal Financial Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.64.

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.