Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Given a $77.00 Price Target by Morgan Stanley Analysts

Morgan Stanley set a $77.00 target price on Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $77.70 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $78.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.49. Principal Financial Group has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $91.97. The company has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change 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 4.0%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.78%.

Institutional Trading of Principal Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth $55,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth $281,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth $943,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,433,000 after buying an additional 13,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.