Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Acquired by Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC significantly increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 251.2%, owning 11,695 shares valued at approximately $987,000.
• Principal Financial Group recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.16, exceeding estimates and demonstrating a year-over-year increase from $1.63.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.78 per share, indicating a strong commitment to return value to shareholders with an annual yield of 3.9%.

Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 251.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,695 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,365 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $987,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,826 shares of the company's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 1,380 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 684 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,803 shares of the company's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 6,427 shares of the company's stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.51. The stock had a trading volume of 974,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,392,479. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $91.97. 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 $17.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.35.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. 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%.

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.