Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Decreases Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH decreased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 304,197 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72,286 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.13% of Principal Financial Group worth $23,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. City Holding Co. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 908 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 25,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,663,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.25.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $81.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.21 and a 1-year high of $91.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. Research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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.