Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $938,000 Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,115 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,213 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,511,000 after acquiring an additional 264,383 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 398.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 291,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,555,000 after purchasing an additional 232,915 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 85.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 466,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,041,000 after purchasing an additional 215,045 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,821,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted 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 period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $83.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.48. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $91.98. The company has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17.

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 issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.