Whipplewood Advisors LLC Makes New $54,000 Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,577,000 after buying an additional 18,801 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 806,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,293,000 after buying an additional 88,179 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 665,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,509,000 after buying an additional 125,198 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 41.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 503,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,367,000 after buying an additional 146,473 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $89.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.67 and a 200-day moving average of $82.85. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.21 and a 52 week high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company 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 is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

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.