Everence Capital Management Inc. Buys 2,590 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 57.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,110 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 403.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,800,000 after buying an additional 284,067 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $19,698,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 503,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,367,000 after acquiring an additional 146,473 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 818.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 152,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,112,000 after acquiring an additional 136,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 6,593.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 132,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,356,000 after purchasing an additional 130,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PFG shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.75.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $77.91 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $82.36 and its 200 day moving average is $82.19. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $72.21 and a one year high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $17.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -86.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.20.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently -324.44%.

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.