Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Acquired by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,930 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 11,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 66.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 9,933 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 298,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,422,000 after purchasing an additional 63,747 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 358.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 12,768 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,441,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.75.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $76.34 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.21 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -84.82, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -324.44%.

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.