Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Acquired by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management increased its Principal Financial Group stake by 11.7% in the third quarter, purchasing 22,177 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 211,693 shares valued at approximately $23.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial, with hedge funds and other institutional investors controlling 75.08% of PFG’s outstanding shares; major holders including BlackRock, State Street and Bank of America also increased or initiated positions.
• PFG shares fell 1.4% to $108.57, near the analyst consensus target of $108.67. Analysts’ overall rating is “Hold,” while the company’s latest earnings of $2.50 per share exceeded estimates of $2.33 despite revenue falling short of forecasts.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG - Free Report) by 11.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 211,693 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,177 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.10% of Principal Financial Group worth $23,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $2,157,181,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,264,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,106,346,000 after acquiring an additional 85,014 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,819,452 shares of the company's stock worth $794,721,000 after purchasing an additional 420,319 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,886,509 shares of the company's stock worth $350,187,000 after purchasing an additional 119,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,216,125 shares of the company's stock worth $238,854,000 after purchasing an additional 244,550 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of PFG stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $108.57. 1,276,549 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,178,835. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.45 and a 52-week high of $121.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $112.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $117.00 to $115.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $113.00 to $112.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.67.

Principal Financial Group Profile

Principal Financial Group, Inc is a global financial services company that helps individuals and businesses build, protect and manage wealth. Its offerings include retirement plans, individual retirement accounts, investment products, life and disability insurance, and financial wellness solutions. The company also provides institutional investment management and pension-risk transfer services.

Principal serves employers, institutions and individual investors through a range of retirement and workplace benefits solutions.

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