Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Stock Holdings Increased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 40.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,674 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,645 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,632,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 344.2% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 151.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 6,731 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:PFG opened at $80.83 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.98. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $77.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 65.10%.

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.