Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Holdings Boosted by DMKC Advisory Services LLC

DMKC Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,584 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,832 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group accounts for 3.3% of DMKC Advisory Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. DMKC Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $6,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,269,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $943,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,433,000 after purchasing an additional 13,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,608 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 brokerages recently commented on PFG. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $83.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.75.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. 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 firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.78%.

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.