New York Life Investment Management LLC Sells 178 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

New York Life Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 81.7% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.30.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $81.21 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $81.79 and its 200 day moving average is $77.88. The company has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G 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 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.17 and a 1 year high of $86.79.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 52.67%.

Principal Financial Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.