ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 3,747 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,984 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,747 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFG. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 806,672 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,293,000 after buying an additional 88,179 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,534,000 after buying an additional 118,722 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 25,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PFG traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.01. 846,029 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,323,696. 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 twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.70 and a 200 day moving average of $80.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.10%.

Principal Financial Group 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.