Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its Principal Financial Group stake by 14.2% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 877,645 shares valued at approximately $79.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.08% of PFG’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts maintain a broadly cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $105.75, below the stock’s reported $113.73 opening price. PFG recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $2.50 versus the $2.33 consensus estimate.
• Principal Financial Group raised its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.84 per share, representing an annualized payout of $3.36 and a 3.0% yield.

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 877,645 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 108,963 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.41% of Principal Financial Group worth $79,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 price target on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.75.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $113.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $109.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.15. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.00 and a 52 week high of $114.95.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 46.59%.

Insider Activity at Principal Financial Group

In other news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total transaction of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,854,259.88. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group NASDAQ: PFG is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm's business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal's product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.

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