AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Buys 115,569 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 27.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 540,212 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 115,569 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.23% of Principal Financial Group worth $46,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 403.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,447 shares of the company's stock worth $27,800,000 after buying an additional 284,067 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $19,698,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 165.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 337,877 shares of the company's stock worth $29,162,000 after buying an additional 210,476 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 586.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 234,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,267,000 after purchasing an additional 200,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $13,996,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PFG. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $82.40. 1,429,851 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,133,862. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $84.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.80. The firm has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.71 and a 52 week high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.73%.

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.