Curat Global LLC Invests $518,000 in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company's stock worth $422,074,000 after acquiring an additional 52,410 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,534,000 after buying an additional 118,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,318,000 after buying an additional 209,885 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Principal Financial Group stock traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $76.97. 1,164,346 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,324,140. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.42. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.98. The stock has a market cap of $17.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (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 last year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.85.

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.