HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Has $264,000 Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,356 shares of the company’s stock after selling 789 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,667,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 277,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,804,000 after buying an additional 37,836 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,836,000 after buying an additional 575,646 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1,218.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 250,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,715,000 after buying an additional 231,601 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $80.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.17 and a 52-week high of $86.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.13. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.00.

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.