Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Price Target Raised to $95.00 at Morgan Stanley

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $93.00 to $95.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on PFG. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.11.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $93.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $92.18 and a 200 day moving average of $86.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $97.88.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.03). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Principal Financial Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.010-9.260 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Principal Financial Group

In related news, CEO Deanna D. Strable-Soethout sold 7,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $697,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 136,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,998,660. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 24,965 shares of company stock worth $2,352,460 in the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $273,276,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 112.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,348,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244,668 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,370,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,991 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 62.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,023,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,800,000 after purchasing an additional 776,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 57.6% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,791,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,213,000 after purchasing an additional 654,408 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, commonly known as Principal, is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm provides a broad range of retirement, investment management and insurance solutions for individual, employer and institutional clients. Its core businesses include retirement plan services and recordkeeping, asset management, and life and disability insurance, supported by distribution through employers, financial advisors and direct channels.

On the retirement side, Principal offers 401(k) and other workplace retirement plans, individual retirement accounts and annuity products designed to help clients accumulate and manage retirement savings.