Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 20,493 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 149,802 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,493 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of Principal Financial Group worth $11,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PFG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $217,021,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,546,000 after buying an additional 326,604 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,511,000 after buying an additional 264,383 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 398.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 291,379 shares of the company's stock worth $22,555,000 after buying an additional 232,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,821,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE PFG traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.01. 846,029 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,322,623. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.97. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $91.98. The company has a market cap of $17.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.10%.

Principal Financial Group 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.