43,187 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Acquired by Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC

Key Points

• Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group, purchasing 43,187 shares valued at approximately $3.27 million during the second quarter.
• Principal Financial Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.78 per share from $0.76, reflecting a 3.8% yield based on an annualized amount of $3.12.
• Wall Street analysts have a mixed outlook on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $86.90, indicating diverging views on the company’s future performance.

Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 43,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,269,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock worth $312,805,000 after buying an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 114.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,613,143 shares of the company's stock worth $220,471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,008 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $47,986,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased 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 worth $53,597,000 after buying an additional 526,701 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 474,686 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PFG. Barclays raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $82.21. 1,036,419 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,389,711. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.39 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The company has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50 day moving average price is $79.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.73.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.