SG Americas Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 11,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $943,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 11,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 684 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.61. 2,262,650 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,331,730. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.98. The company has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.67.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 65.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PFG. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.85.

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.