Midland Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $1.31 Million Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Midland Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,314,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,021,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock worth $114,726,000 after purchasing an additional 627,865 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 worth $40,389,000 after purchasing an additional 474,686 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $28,448,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,546,000 after purchasing an additional 326,604 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PFG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $77.02. 971,719 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,326,274. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.09 and a 200-day moving average of $80.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). 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 company earned $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.10%.

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.