UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,877,246 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 209,885 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.82% of Principal Financial Group worth $145,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 11,241 shares of the company's stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 29,345 shares of the company's stock worth $2,272,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PFG shares. 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. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of PFG stock traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.67. 1,069,057 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,321,009. The stock has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. 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 fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.83.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Equities 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 announced 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 is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 65.10%.

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.