Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases New Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 101,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,891,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Columbus Macro LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 25,653 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,986,000 after acquiring an additional 8,169 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 135.6% in the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 22,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 12,933 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,064.3% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 148,299 shares of the company's stock worth $11,480,000 after buying an additional 141,447 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 630.3% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 25,014 shares of the company's stock worth $1,936,000 after buying an additional 21,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,533 shares of the company's stock worth $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFG. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on 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 target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.3%

PFG stock traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.34. The company had a trading volume of 734,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,324,872. The company has a market capitalization of $17.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a PEG 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 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 last year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.10%.

Principal Financial Group 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.