Blueshift Asset Management LLC Has $349,000 Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 59.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,004 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,905,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,393,000 after buying an additional 39,854 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,903,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,301,000 after purchasing an additional 53,516 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,577,000 after purchasing an additional 18,801 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 27.2% in the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 540,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,404,000 after purchasing an additional 115,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings 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 worth $43,367,000 after purchasing an additional 146,473 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $87.28 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.39 and a 52 week high of $91.97. The company has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -320.00%.

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.