Martin Capital Partners LLC Raises Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Martin Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 206.0% in Q2, now holding 10,278 shares worth approximately $816,000.
• The company reported earnings of $2.16 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations, and recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.78 per share, yielding 3.8%.
• Recent analyst reports indicate a mix of ratings for Principal Financial Group, with price targets ranging from $72.00 to $101.00 and an average target price of $86.90.

Martin Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 206.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,278 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,919 shares during the quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth approximately $55,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $943,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company's stock worth $44,433,000 after buying an additional 13,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $82.70 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $79.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.39 and a 12 month high of $91.97. 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 (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. 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 is presently 62.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of 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. boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $86.90.

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.

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