International Assets Investment Management LLC Purchases 161,588 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 9,002.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,383 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 161,588 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $12,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 85,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,164,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $208,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 21.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 102,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,417,000 after purchasing an additional 18,325 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 21.9% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 31.7% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 82,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,924,000 after purchasing an additional 19,800 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $81.21 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.79 and a 200-day moving average of $77.88. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $65.17 and a one year high of $86.79. The company has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change 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 is currently 52.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PFG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.30.

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.