Balentine LLC Has $219,000 Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Balentine LLC trimmed its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 45.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,787 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,363 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PFG. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $205,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $93,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $290,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 30.6% during the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 5,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock opened at $81.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $65.17 and a one year high of $86.79. The stock has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.23.

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

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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 target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.30.

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.