Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Purchased by GoalVest Advisory LLC

GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 17.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,498 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,220 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 11,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 29,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.1%

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $78.55 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.10%.

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.