Bridgewater Associates LP Has $15.81 Million Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 86.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,083 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,575 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.08% of Principal Financial Group worth $15,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,905,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,393,000 after acquiring an additional 39,854 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,903,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,301,000 after purchasing an additional 53,516 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,577,000 after purchasing an additional 18,801 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 540,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,404,000 after purchasing an additional 115,569 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 503,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,367,000 after purchasing an additional 146,473 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $87.28 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -96.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.42.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is -324.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PFG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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, October 25th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

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.