TD Asset Management Inc Acquires 20,680 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 25.3%, acquiring an additional 20,680 shares, bringing its total holdings to 102,402 shares valued at approximately $8.64 million.
• Principal Financial Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, marking an increase from the previous $0.76 dividend, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.0%.
• Research firms have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus target price of $86.90, and while some analysts have upgraded their price targets, others continue to assign a "sell" or "underweight" rating.

TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 25.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,402 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,680 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $8,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $55,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $943,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,433,000 after purchasing an additional 13,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $77.83 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.94. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 62.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PFG. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target (up from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.90.

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.

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