Bridgewater Associates LP Boosts Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 37.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,752 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,669 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.11% of Principal Financial Group worth $19,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PFG. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company's stock worth $422,074,000 after purchasing an additional 52,410 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,534,000 after buying an additional 118,722 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during 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 period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company's stock worth $106,511,000 after acquiring an additional 264,383 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock traded down $1.55 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $70.59. The company had a trading volume of 286,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,993. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $91.98.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $65.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.69.

Principal Financial Group 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.