Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Purchased by Virtu Financial LLC

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC significantly increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 164.3%, acquiring an additional 5,751 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 9,251 shares valued at approximately $780,000.
• Principal Financial Group recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.76 to $0.78, set to be paid on September 26th, representing an annualized dividend of $3.12 with a yield of 4.0%.
• Despite mixed analyst ratings, Principal Financial Group has an average target price of $86.70, with recent price target upgrades from both UBS Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co. indicating a positive outlook.

Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 164.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,251 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,751 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PFG. Entropy Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 37,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,189,000 after buying an additional 12,779 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 9,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $1,496,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $75.00 target price (up previously from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.70.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG traded down $0.25 on Thursday, hitting $78.09. 1,047,840 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,420,830. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.61. The stock has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.78%.

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.