Vest Financial LLC Acquires New Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $787,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company's stock worth $422,074,000 after purchasing an additional 52,410 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,546,000 after acquiring an additional 326,604 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock worth $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,246 shares of the company's stock worth $145,318,000 after purchasing an additional 209,885 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:PFG traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $76.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,143,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,421. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.25. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $17.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 65.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays decreased 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. Morgan Stanley upped 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 note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.