3,336 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Bought by Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.

Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Argent Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 29,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 32.3% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 684 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.0% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE PFG traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.86. 1,014,524 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,321,989. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.68. The company has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.39 and a 12 month high of $91.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PFG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $84.62.

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.