Natixis Has $3.65 Million Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Natixis decreased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 23.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 42,325 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,822 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.42.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $80.98 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.21 and a twelve month high of $88.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.05. The company has a market capitalization of $18.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 15.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.20%.

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.