Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Bought by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 481.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,241 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,619 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 7.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 27,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,323,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gentry Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.2% in the second quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $89.59 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $92.10.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 46.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PFG shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 target price on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Principal Financial Group news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of the business’s 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.