Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires 51,355 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 179,448 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 51,355 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Principal Financial Group worth $14,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 61,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,194,000 after purchasing an additional 5,461 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 18.8% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 22.0% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 25.3% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 102,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,640,000 after buying an additional 20,680 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Principal Financial Group news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total value of $160,470.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,924,041.84. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG opened at $84.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.19 and a 200 day moving average of $80.11. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $90.31.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.90.

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.