Principal Financial Group (PFG) will raise its quarterly dividend by 1.8 percent to $0.56 per share in the first quarter of 2020. This follows a 1.9 percent dividend hike last year and marks the 12th consecutive year of annual dividend increases by the investment management company.

The next dividend will be payable on March 27, 2020, to shareholders of record as of March 2, 2020. A new annual dividend rate of  $2.24 per share yields 4.1% at a stock price of $54.43.

“We continue to focus on creating long-term shareholder value through a balanced approach to capital deployment,” added Houston. “In 2019 we deployed $2.1 billion, which was well above our initial target. The Institutional Retirement & Trust (IRT) acquisition not only expands the scale and scope of our retirement business but reaffirms our role as an industry leader. On top of that, we returned $863 million to shareholders through common stock dividends and share repurchases.” said Dan Houston, chairman, president and CEO in today's press release.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. is a global investment management company offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance through its financial services companies.  The company provides long-term investment strategies to institutional, retirement, high net worth and retail clients through equity, fixed income, real estate and other alternative investments, as well as fund offerings. PFG has four reportable segments: Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International and U.S. Insurance Solutions. The company completed its initial offering on October 26, 2001 at a price of $18.50 per share and dividends have been paid since Q4 of 2002.