State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 5,020 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Principal Financial Group by 6.7%, leaving it with 70,010 shares valued at approximately $5.91 million.
• Principal Financial Group reported earnings of $2.16 per share in its most recent quarter, exceeding expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.76 to $0.78 per share.
• Analysts have set a mixed outlook for Principal Financial Group, with the average rating being "Hold" and a target price of $86.90.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,010 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,020 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $5,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,826 shares of the company's stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during the first quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 1,380 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 32.3% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 684 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 11.0% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 6,427 shares of the company's stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 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 shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:PFG traded up $2.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,250,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,407,295. The firm has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.97.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

About Principal Financial Group

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.