Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 142.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,647 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 61,439 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $8,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,511,000 after acquiring an additional 264,383 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 398.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 291,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,555,000 after acquiring an additional 232,915 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 85.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 466,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,041,000 after acquiring an additional 215,045 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,821,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 41.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 503,735 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,367,000 after acquiring an additional 146,473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.
Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.0 %
PFG traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.26. 2,541,416 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,136,699. The firm's fifty day moving average is $83.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.46. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.21 and a 1-year high of $91.98. 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 company has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17.
Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued 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 is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 44.91%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have recently commented on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $80.00 price target (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $85.92.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Principal Financial Group
About Principal Financial Group
(
Free Report)
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.
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