Covestor Ltd Purchases 319 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Covestor Ltd raised its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 144.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 540 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $42,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Argent Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 29,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,821,000. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 72,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,574,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,494,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $68.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.69.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $73.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.90. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $91.98. The company has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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 4.10%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

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.