Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Decreases Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 67.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 201,881 shares of the company's stock after selling 421,803 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.09% of Principal Financial Group worth $18,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of PFG opened at $113.95 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.00 and a fifty-two week high of $114.95. The company has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $108.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.24.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 46.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Principal Financial Group news, insider Wee Yee Cheong sold 7,534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.16, for a total value of $777,207.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 66,443 shares in the company, valued at $6,854,259.88. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on PFG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup downgraded Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial cut Principal Financial Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.75.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group NASDAQ: PFG is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm's business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal's product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.

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