Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $683,000 Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 924 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $55,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth $943,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,433,000 after purchasing an additional 13,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 802.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,296,608 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $75.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.55 and a 200-day moving average of $79.87. The firm has a market cap of $16.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PFG. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.70.

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.