Cetera Investment Advisers Has $4.34 Million Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,103 shares of the company’s stock after selling 253 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $4,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,074,000 after acquiring an additional 52,410 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,546,000 after acquiring an additional 326,604 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,129,000 after acquiring an additional 44,818 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PFG. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Four equities research 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.54.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of PFG stock opened at $81.04 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.15 and a 200-day moving average of $81.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $91.98. The firm has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a PEG 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.10%.

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.