Mackenzie Financial Corp Has $2.17 Million Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lowered its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,578 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,240 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,667,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 277,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,804,000 after acquiring an additional 37,836 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,836,000 after acquiring an additional 575,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 1,218.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 250,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,715,000 after acquiring an additional 231,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $81.51 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.33. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.17 and a fifty-two week high of $86.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.13. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 112.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised 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 research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.64.

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.