USS Investment Management Ltd Decreases Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,354 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,639 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 806,672 shares of the company's stock worth $69,293,000 after acquiring an additional 88,179 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock worth $211,534,000 after acquiring an additional 118,722 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,137 shares of the company's stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,090 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,180 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.85.

Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.7%

PFG traded down $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 282,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,317,932. The stock has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $77.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.83. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.39 and a twelve month high of $91.98.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 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 period last year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. 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 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.