Candriam S.C.A. Sells 6,666 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. has reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. by 28.5% during the first quarter, now holding 16,758 shares valued at $1,414,000.
• Principal Financial Group reported earnings of $2.16 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and it has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.78.
• Hedge funds and institutional investors currently own approximately 75.08% of Principal Financial Group's stock, indicating strong investment interest in the company.

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 28.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,758 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,666 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,826 shares of the company's stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 1,380 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 32.3% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 684 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 11.0% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,803 shares of the company's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 6,427 shares of the company's stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock traded up $0.46 on Friday, hitting $80.68. The stock had a trading volume of 177,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,387,430. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.97. The business's 50 day moving average is $79.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 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 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $86.90.

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.