Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,480 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,259 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,480 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 77,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $83.26 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $91.98. The company has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.65 and its 200-day moving average is $83.45.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFG. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group 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.