Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $537,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company's stock worth $283,546,000 after acquiring an additional 326,604 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth about $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock worth $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock worth $114,726,000 after acquiring an additional 627,865 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PFG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE PFG traded up $1.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $78.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 903,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,017. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $91.98. The company has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $77.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.83.

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 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.10%.

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.