Acadian Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 21.7%, owning 100,634 shares valued at approximately $8.49 million after acquiring an additional 17,958 shares.
• Principal Financial Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78, a slight increase from its previous dividend, with a current annualized yield of 3.8%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Principal Financial Group, with two "Buy" ratings, five "Hold" ratings, and three "Sell" ratings, while the consensus target price stands at $86.90.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 21.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,634 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,958 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $8,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFG. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 57,423 shares of the company's stock worth $4,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,086 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 9,931 shares of the company's stock worth $769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,648 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $336,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $537,000. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $241,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE PFG traded down $2.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.09. 1,766,422 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,386,383. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.97. The company has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $79.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.89.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. 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 will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $86.90.

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.