Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases New Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management opened a new position in Principal Financial Group, buying 22,484 shares valued at approximately $2.4 million. Institutional investors own 75.08% of PFG.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $106.67, below the stock’s reported price of $111.89.
• Principal Financial Group exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.50 in EPS versus the $2.33 consensus estimate, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, representing a 3.0% yield.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 22,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,423,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. Korea Investment CORP bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $11,207,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,337,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,342,000. Finally, Burnham & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Atlantic Securities set a $94.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Principal Financial Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup cut shares of Principal Financial Group from a "sell" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $111.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.63. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $116.61. The stock has a market cap of $23.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 46.59%.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group NASDAQ: PFG is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm's business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal's product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.

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