Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Grows Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,981 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,467 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 143.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 384 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter worth about $33,000. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 81.7% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $82.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.17 and a 1-year high of $86.79.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 15.14%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 112.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Piper Sandler lifted 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 lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.64.

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.