RIA Advisory Group LLC Has $84.96 Million Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

RIA Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 35,473.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,080,000 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,076,964 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group makes up approximately 24.7% of RIA Advisory Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. RIA Advisory Group LLC owned about 0.45% of Principal Financial Group worth $84,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $4,667,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 277,157 shares of the company's stock worth $21,804,000 after purchasing an additional 37,836 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company's stock worth $318,836,000 after purchasing an additional 575,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1,218.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 250,602 shares of the company's stock worth $19,715,000 after purchasing an additional 231,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFG shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $80.44. The company had a trading volume of 962,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,139,859. 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 1 year low of $65.17 and a 1 year high of $86.79. The company has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.04.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 15.14%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is presently 112.65%.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.