7,160 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Purchased by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 152.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.42.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $85.27. 108,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,094,259. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.21 and a 1-year high of $88.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $81.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.98.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results 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 15.06% and a net margin of 8.70%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 54.20%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.