Cwm LLC Boosts Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Cwm LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,941 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,836,000 after acquiring an additional 575,646 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,920,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,580,000 after acquiring an additional 16,052 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,231,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,843,000 after acquiring an additional 249,127 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,210,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,305,000 after acquiring an additional 456,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% during the 4th quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,964 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $79.12 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.55. The company has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.17 and a 52 week high of $86.79.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

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

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.