ProShare Advisors LLC Has $3.95 Million Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,984 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,747 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,636 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 11,241 shares of the company's stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 29,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:PFG traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.01. The company had a trading volume of 846,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,320,943. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.98. The firm has a market cap of $17.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The business's fifty day moving average is $77.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.01.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.10%.

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.