Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Purchases 2,760 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. grew its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,900 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,760 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group accounts for about 1.7% of Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,511,000 after purchasing an additional 264,383 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 398.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 291,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,555,000 after buying an additional 232,915 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,821,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 41.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 503,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,367,000 after buying an additional 146,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2,064.3% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 148,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,480,000 after acquiring an additional 141,447 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $85.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $91.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

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.