Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. RIA Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% in the 4th quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,964 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $318,836,000 after purchasing an additional 575,646 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,210,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,305,000 after purchasing an additional 456,455 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,290,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $22,726,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $81.21 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.72. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.17 and a 52 week high of $86.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.70%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.67%.

Principal Financial Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI increased 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 research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.30.

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.