Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Bought by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 8.0%, acquiring 5,755 additional shares, bringing their total ownership to 77,331 shares valued at approximately $6.5 million.
• Principal Financial Group's stock is currently up 0.9%, trading at $76.81, while analysts have varying target price ratings, with JPMorgan raising its target to $101.00.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.78, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.12 with a dividend yield of 4.1%.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,331 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,755 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $6,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the 4th 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 11,781.7% during the 1st 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 during the period. Conning Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5,081.7% during the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 404,953 shares of the company's stock worth $34,166,000 after purchasing an additional 397,138 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,448,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.3%

PFG stock traded up $0.99 on Friday, hitting $76.59. 819,924 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,420,083. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $91.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 62.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.70.

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.