Western Wealth Management LLC Sells 508 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Western Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,675 shares of the company’s stock after selling 508 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PFG. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,836,000 after purchasing an additional 575,646 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,210,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,305,000 after acquiring an additional 456,455 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $30,290,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $22,726,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,231,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,843,000 after acquiring an additional 249,127 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 weighed in on PFG. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $81.35 on Tuesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.17 and a 52-week high of $86.79. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.13. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.65%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.