Cwm LLC Has $939,000 Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Cwm LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,941 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 100,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,904,000 after acquiring an additional 41,728 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 35,473.1% during the 4th quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,080,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,964 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 36,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,908,000 after acquiring an additional 5,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on 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, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.64.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 2.4 %

PFG stock opened at $79.12 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.78 and its 200 day moving average is $77.55. The stock has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.25. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.70%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.67%.

Principal Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.