abrdn plc Buys 41,728 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

abrdn plc raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 71.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,473 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,728 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $7,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. RIA Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% during the 4th quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,964,000 after buying an additional 1,076,964 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 36,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,908,000 after buying an additional 5,324 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 20,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 97,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,703,000 after purchasing an additional 5,502 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $79.12 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.17 and a fifty-two week high of $86.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.25.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.70%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.67%.

Principal Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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 research report on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.64.

About Principal Financial Group

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.