Sterling Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 54.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,485 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,731 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,074,000 after buying an additional 52,410 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,534,000 after purchasing an additional 118,722 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,129,000 after purchasing an additional 44,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,511,000 after purchasing an additional 264,383 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PFG. Barclays lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.69.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:PFG opened at $73.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $91.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.51 and a 200 day moving average of $82.90.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.