Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 32.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,499 shares of the company's stock after selling 79,897 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of Principal Financial Group worth $12,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 valued at $318,836,000 after purchasing an additional 575,646 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,920,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $282,580,000 after buying an additional 16,052 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,231,757 shares of the company's stock worth $160,843,000 after buying an additional 249,127 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,210,985 shares of the company's stock worth $87,305,000 after buying an additional 456,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% in the 4th quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,964 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $80.30.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG traded up $0.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.21. 784,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 983,162. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.17 and a 12 month high of $86.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.24.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.67%.

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.