Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Bought by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,662,918 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 326,604 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.60% of Principal Financial Group worth $283,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PFG. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 144.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 540 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 559 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.31.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $76.59. The stock had a trading volume of 165,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,966. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.98.

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 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio 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.