Qsemble Capital Management LP Buys 5,411 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 42.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,219 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,411 shares during the quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,360,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,030,000 after buying an additional 149,353 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,311,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,154,000 after acquiring an additional 29,462 shares during the period. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth $4,667,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,507,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PFG shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. 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 report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.92.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock traded up $0.79 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $86.87. 817,692 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,094,447. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.21 and a 1-year high of $87.28. The company has a market cap of $20.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.73.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.20%.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.