Groupe la Francaise Purchases 5,139 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 15.8%, now owning 37,705 shares worth approximately $3.2 million.
• Principal Financial Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.78, reflecting a 3.9% yield and a payout ratio of 62.78%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $2.16 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.97, with a net margin of 9.74%.

Groupe la Francaise boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,705 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,139 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,805,000 after buying an additional 3,296,608 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 purchasing an additional 326,604 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,246 shares of the company's stock worth $145,318,000 after purchasing an additional 209,885 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock worth $114,726,000 after purchasing an additional 627,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,728 shares of the company's stock worth $123,917,000 after purchasing an additional 20,221 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG traded down $0.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $80.22. 1,248,462 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,392,583. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.45. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.39 and a 52-week high of $91.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

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.