Graham Capital Management L.P. Increases Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 240.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,122 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,739 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,021,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,726,000 after acquiring an additional 627,865 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,511,000 after purchasing an additional 264,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 398.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 291,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,555,000 after purchasing an additional 232,915 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on PFG shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.54.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $81.55. 1,036,926 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,322,142. 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 market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $91.98. The firm's 50 day moving average is $78.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.11.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. Sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.