EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Takes $8.31 Million Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 107,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,308,000. Principal Financial Group comprises approximately 2.4% of EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 12.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 806,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,293,000 after purchasing an additional 88,179 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,534,000 after purchasing an additional 118,722 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.9%

PFG stock traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.44. The stock had a trading volume of 228,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,319,372. The firm has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. 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 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $91.98. The company's 50-day moving average price is $77.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.84.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 65.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFG. 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 lifted 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. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.