Integrity Alliance LLC. Acquires Shares of 5,576 Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Integrity Alliance LLC has acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group, purchasing 5,576 shares valued at approximately $470,000 during the first quarter.
• The company will increase its quarterly dividend to $0.78 per share, with an annual yield of 3.8%, marking a rise from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.76.
• Principal Financial Group's recent earnings report showed $2.16 earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and the stock is currently up 0.8% at $82.70.

Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFG. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 57,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,445,000 after buying an additional 3,086 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 9,931 shares of the company's stock worth $769,000 after buying an additional 1,648 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $336,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $537,000. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG traded down $2.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $80.09. 1,766,422 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,386,383. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.89. The company has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PFG. Barclays upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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, UBS Group lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $86.90.

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.