Marquette Asset Management LLC Has $477,000 Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Marquette Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,062 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RIA Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% during the fourth quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,964 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 15.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,836,000 after purchasing an additional 575,646 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 60.5% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,210,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,305,000 after purchasing an additional 456,455 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,290,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $22,726,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PFG traded down $1.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $79.12. 1,424,758 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 896,866. The stock has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.17 and a 12-month high of $86.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.50.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.67%.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Principal Financial Group

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.