National Pension Service Cuts Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

National Pension Service decreased its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 350,543 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,049 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.15% of Principal Financial Group worth $27,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DMKC Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $4,703,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $514,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $89.04 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.21 and a fifty-two week high of $91.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.91. The company has a market cap of $20.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

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.