Swiss National Bank Has $59.51 Million Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 756,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.32% of Principal Financial Group worth $59,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PFG. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 81.7% during the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PFG. Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two 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.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.30.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.9 %

PFG opened at $81.21 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.88. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.17 and a twelve month high of $86.79.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for 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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.67%.

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.