HRT Financial LP Takes $693,000 Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 3rd, 2023

HRT Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG – Get Rating) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 387.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,838,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,255,366 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 307.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,133,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,223,000 after acquiring an additional 855,747 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 404.3% in the third quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 348,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,162,000 after acquiring an additional 279,589 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 13.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,242,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,809,000 after acquiring an additional 259,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,054,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,615,000 after purchasing an additional 251,562 shares during the last quarter. 74.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Principal Financial Group news, SVP Kenneth A. Mccullum sold 3,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $256,733.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 29,244 shares in the company, valued at $2,032,458. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $69.47 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.05 and a 1 year high of $96.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.47 and its 200 day moving average is $76.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.28.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.54 by ($0.06). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 24.97% and a return on equity of 16.04%. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 31st. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $81.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.31.

About Principal Financial Group

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Principal Financial Group, Inc engages in the investment management offering business. It offers financial products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients. It operates its business through following segments: Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, U.S.