Avanza Fonder AB Has $1.24 Million Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Avanza Fonder AB decreased its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 33.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,358 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,119 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,064.3% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 148,299 shares of the company's stock worth $11,480,000 after buying an additional 141,447 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock worth $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $304,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,821,000. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,613,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PFG. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG traded up $0.53 on Thursday, hitting $77.02. The company had a trading volume of 971,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,236. The stock has a market cap of $17.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company's fifty day moving average price is $76.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.20. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.98.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.