New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Has $786,000 Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board reduced its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,154 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 11,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 66.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 9,933 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $771,000. Columbus Macro LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 25,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after acquiring an additional 8,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 135.6% during the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 22,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 12,933 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 price target (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.54.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $86.60 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.20. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.21 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.71%.

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.