Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Increases Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 83.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,209 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,731 shares during the quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. PrairieView Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG traded down $1.29 on Tuesday, hitting $79.14. 1,065,667 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,133,399. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $65.17 and a one year high of $86.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.69.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.09.

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.