Voloridge Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 879,704 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,600 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned about 0.38% of Principal Financial Group worth $68,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 846,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,623. 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 one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $91.98. The firm has a market cap of $17.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $77.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased 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 report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.