Aberdeen Group plc Grows Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has increased its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. by 4.7%, now owning 173,436 shares valued at approximately $13.78 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Principal Financial Group, with forecasts ranging from $73.00 to $94.00, while the average rating stands at "Reduce."
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.78 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.8%.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,436 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,736 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.08% of Principal Financial Group worth $13,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,269,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $943,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,433,000 after purchasing an additional 13,483 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 72,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,747,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $88.60.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $81.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $80.55 and a 200-day moving average of $78.59. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.78%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.

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