Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,090 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 15,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 25,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 428.4% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,038,000 after purchasing an additional 52,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 7.1% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 95,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,478,000 after purchasing an additional 6,360 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $81.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -90.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.05 and a 200 day moving average of $82.24. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.21 and a 12 month high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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.