Syon Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Syon Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 36.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,487 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 6,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,667,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 277,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,804,000 after acquiring an additional 37,836 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 15.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,423,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,836,000 after acquiring an additional 575,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1,218.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 250,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,715,000 after acquiring an additional 231,601 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $79.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.17 and a 1 year high of $86.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.78 and its 200 day moving average is $77.45.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.09). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.70%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on PFG shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.64.

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.