DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Boosts Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,615 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,057 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $6,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,074,000 after buying an additional 52,410 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company's stock worth $283,546,000 after purchasing an additional 326,604 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,021,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in 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 worth $145,318,000 after purchasing an additional 209,885 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock worth $114,726,000 after purchasing an additional 627,865 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.5%

PFG opened at $80.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.98. The firm's fifty day moving average is $78.48 and its 200 day moving average is $79.73. The stock has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.99.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 65.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.75.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.

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