Focus Partners Wealth Purchases 62,193 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 559.8% during Q1, acquiring a total of 73,302 shares worth approximately $6.19 million.
• Principal Financial Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.78 per share, reflecting a 3.8% yield and a payout ratio of 62.78%.
• The stock has a current market capitalization of $18.42 billion with a P/E ratio of 12.38 and recent earnings per share reported at $2.16, exceeding analyst expectations.

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 559.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,302 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,193 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $6,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 802.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 114.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,613,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,008 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,318,000 after acquiring an additional 209,885 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,917,000 after acquiring an additional 20,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,080,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,128,000 after acquiring an additional 17,969 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of PFG traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.71. The stock had a trading volume of 3,057,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,391,685. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.84.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 62.78%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.