Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 6,207 Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 135.6% in the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 22,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,739,000 after buying an additional 12,933 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2,064.3% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 148,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,480,000 after buying an additional 141,447 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 630.3% in the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 25,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,936,000 after buying an additional 21,589 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,534,000 after buying an additional 118,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.97. 1,164,346 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,325,778. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $91.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $76.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.31.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 65.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFG. 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.85.

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.