Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $15.82 Million in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 204,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,821,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFG. Piper Sandler upped their target price 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 upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of PFG opened at $83.24 on Wednesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.21 and a 12 month high of $91.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.28 and its 200-day moving average is $83.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.91%.

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.