Royal Bank of Canada Increases Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,062,128 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 85,011 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.46% of Principal Financial Group worth $82,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 25,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,011,000 after buying an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $81.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $78.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.07.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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