Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 54,279 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 51.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,027 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,279 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $4,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 143.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of PFG stock opened at $81.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.25. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.17 and a 1-year high of $86.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.80 and a 200 day moving average of $77.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.14% and a net margin of 4.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.65%.

Principal Financial Group declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Principal Financial Group 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.