GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 0.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 203,522 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,197 shares during the quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $17,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 51.3% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 7,626 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 692,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,786,000 after acquiring an additional 43,190 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 72.3% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 259.7% during the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 6,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PFG traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $84.64. 204,797 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,128,827. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.71 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.12 and its 200-day moving average is $81.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.58.

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.