Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Reduces Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 8.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,743 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $7,891,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the first quarter worth approximately $279,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 470.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11,781.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,389,000 after purchasing an additional 474,686 shares during the period. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at $55,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target 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 boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.4%

PFG opened at $82.62 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.71. The company has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.78%.

Principal Financial Group 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.