Squarepoint Ops LLC Boosts Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 143.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 105,964 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 62,404 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $8,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $217,021,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,726,000 after buying an additional 627,865 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 326,604 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company's stock worth $106,511,000 after buying an additional 264,383 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 398.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 291,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,555,000 after buying an additional 232,915 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG traded up $1.88 on Tuesday, reaching $78.89. The company had a trading volume of 903,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,016. 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 cap of $17.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.84.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.10%.

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.