Trust Point Inc. Makes New Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 385,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,290,000. Principal Financial Group comprises about 2.5% of Trust Point Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Trust Point Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Principal Financial Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 25,275 shares of the company's stock worth $1,988,000 after purchasing an additional 3,351 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,302 shares of the company's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 126.5% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 1,848 shares of the company's stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 56,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,456,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PFG. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $83.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.18.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.5 %

PFG traded up $0.43 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $85.77. The company had a trading volume of 963,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,179,727. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.17 and a 12 month high of $86.77. The business's fifty day moving average price is $80.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.41. The company has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.13. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 112.65%.

Principal Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.