Pinion Investment Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Pinion Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 128.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,042 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,962 shares during the quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 11,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 29,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 32.3% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.5%

PFG opened at $75.90 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $76.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.00. The company has a market capitalization of $17.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. 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.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 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 Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.10%.

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.