Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Stock Position Raised by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,223 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 18,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,468,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 3,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 2,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.25.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $78.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $81.64 and its 200-day moving average is $82.16. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $91.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -87.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.22.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -324.44%.

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.