Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 418 Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $348,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $718,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,274,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PFG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.30.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $78.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.35. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.21 and a 52-week high of $86.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.23.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.09). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.20%.

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.