Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Acquired by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

Key Points

• OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 444.9%, owning 54,118 shares valued at approximately $4.57 million.
• Principal Financial Group reported an EPS of $2.16 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.97.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.78, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.76, with a dividend yield of 3.9%.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 444.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,118 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 44,187 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $4,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PFG. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 604,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,970,000 after purchasing an additional 134,697 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 251.2% in the 1st quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 8,365 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 346.4% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 19,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 15,462 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $179,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Principal Financial Group stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.51. 974,695 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,392,479. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.97. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $79.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $86.90.

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.