Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 109.4%, acquiring an additional 65,300 shares, bringing its total ownership to 125,000 shares valued at approximately $10.5 million.
• Principal Financial Group recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.16 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and is projected to post an EPS of 8.5 for the current year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.78 per share, up from $0.76, indicating a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 109.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 125,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 65,300 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden owned about 0.06% of Principal Financial Group worth $10,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,726 shares of the company's stock worth $3,385,000 after buying an additional 3,426 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 20,005 shares of the company's stock worth $1,549,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 99.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 11,709 shares of the company's stock worth $906,000 after buying an additional 5,836 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the company's stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $15,821,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.70.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $78.09. 1,047,840 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,420,830. The firm has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $78.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.61.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 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.