Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. Purchases Shares of 3,336 Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $217,021,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,726,000 after buying an additional 627,865 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11,781.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,389,000 after buying an additional 474,686 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5,081.7% during the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 404,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,166,000 after buying an additional 397,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,448,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock traded up $1.29 on Tuesday, hitting $81.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,173,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,323,856. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $91.98. The company has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.66. 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 (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 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 last year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. Research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.38.

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.