Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Has $11.14 Million Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) by 71.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,405 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,815 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Principal Financial Group worth $11,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $244,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 4.6% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth $222,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PFG shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.11.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $85.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $92.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.87. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $97.88.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 7.58%.The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Principal Financial Group news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $697,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 136,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,998,660. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,965 shares of company stock valued at $2,352,460. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.