Marquette Asset Management LLC Sells 200 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Marquette Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,062 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PFG. RIA Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% in the 4th quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,964 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,836,000 after acquiring an additional 575,646 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,210,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,305,000 after purchasing an additional 456,455 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,290,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $22,726,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock traded down $1.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,424,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 896,866. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.78 and a 200 day moving average of $77.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.17 and a 52-week high of $86.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.25.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PFG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.64.

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.