Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Increases Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 151.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,411 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,547 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,074,000 after purchasing an additional 52,410 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,546,000 after buying an additional 326,604 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth about $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,129,000 after acquiring an additional 44,818 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 3.7 %

NYSE:PFG opened at $76.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.65. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $65.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.31.

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.