Twin Capital Management Inc. Sells 174 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Twin Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,551 shares of the company’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $51,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 25.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 35,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after buying an additional 7,292 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 55.6% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after buying an additional 5,657 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 32,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter valued at about $1,345,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped 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 report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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, Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $80.44 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.17 and a 12-month high of $86.79. The company has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.83, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.04.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 an increase 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 is presently 112.65%.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.