Integrity Alliance LLC. Buys New Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Integrity Alliance LLC has acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group, purchasing 5,576 shares valued at approximately $470,000 during the first quarter.
• The company will increase its quarterly dividend to $0.78 per share, with an annual yield of 3.8%, marking a rise from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.76.
• Principal Financial Group's recent earnings report showed $2.16 earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and the stock is currently up 0.8% at $82.70.

Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 114.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,613,143 shares of the company's stock worth $220,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,008 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter worth about $47,986,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 443.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 645,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,597,000 after acquiring an additional 526,701 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 11,781.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,389,000 after purchasing an additional 474,686 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:PFG traded up $0.87 on Thursday, reaching $81.73. 225,692 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,378,958. The firm has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. 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 50-day simple moving average of $79.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.91. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.39 and a 12 month high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 62.78%.

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.