Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,247,915 shares of the company's stock after selling 182,612 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.15% of Principal Financial Group worth $2,298,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 1,380 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 684 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in 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 last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts recently commented on PFG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $75.00 target price (up from $71.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.70.
Get Our Latest Report on PFG
Principal Financial Group Stock Up 1.4%
Shares of PFG traded up $1.10 on Wednesday, reaching $78.34. The stock had a trading volume of 2,068,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,268. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $91.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.64.
Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.78%.
Principal Financial Group Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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