Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Grows Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,821 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $6,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,726,000 after buying an additional 627,865 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 19,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,516,000 after buying an additional 3,453 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $3,301,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 30,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,369,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.54.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $81.70 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.15. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $18.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 65.10%.

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.