BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $36.34 Million Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 469,424 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 101,579 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.21% of Principal Financial Group worth $36,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,636 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 11,241 shares of the company's stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.54.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PFG traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.90. 933,060 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,315,237. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.45 and a 200-day moving average of $81.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.98. 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 (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.