LMR Partners LLP Invests $696,000 in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,995 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $696,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,074,000 after purchasing an additional 52,410 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,546,000 after purchasing an additional 326,604 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at $217,021,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,534,000 after purchasing an additional 118,722 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,726,000 after purchasing an additional 627,865 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.54.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.2%

PFG traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,036,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,319,281. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $78.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.11. The company has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.39 and a 12-month high of $91.98. 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 (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. 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, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Principal Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.