Fortis Group Advisors LLC Buys 458 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 100.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 916 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $72,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,360,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,030,000 after buying an additional 149,353 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,311,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,154,000 after acquiring an additional 29,462 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,667,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,507,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.66. 918,276 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 884,376. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.25. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.21 and a 52-week high of $86.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.70%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PFG shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.30.

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.