North Star Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

North Star Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 370,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,935,000. Principal Financial Group comprises about 1.6% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 6,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Group increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.8% during the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 4,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ PFG opened at $112.17 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $116.61. The company has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $111.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.96.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.59%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.