Raymond James & Associates Buys 30,973 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 36.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,364 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,973 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $9,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PFG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.6% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 18.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.7% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:PFG opened at $84.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.78. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.71 and a 12 month high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.73%.

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.