Voya Investment Management LLC Buys 3,771 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group, increasing its holdings by 6.1% during the first quarter, totaling 65,972 shares valued at approximately $5.57 million.
• Principal Financial Group's recent earnings report showed $2.16 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations by $0.19.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.76.

Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,972 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,771 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $5,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $537,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 318.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 85,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,611,000 after buying an additional 65,000 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 143.3% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 105,964 shares of the company's stock worth $8,203,000 after acquiring an additional 62,404 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 6,693 shares of the company's stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE PFG traded up $0.50 during trading on Monday, reaching $82.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,036,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,389,711. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.39 and a 12 month 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 cap of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day moving average price is $79.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.70.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 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.