Voleon Capital Management LP Takes $3.52 Million Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 45,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,524,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew 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 valued at $69,293,000 after acquiring an additional 88,179 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $114,000. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter worth $281,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,570,000 after purchasing an additional 11,868 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 231,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,867,000 after buying an additional 6,817 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $65.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.31.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG traded up $2.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $76.83. 1,817,868 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,307,642. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.39 and a 1 year high of $91.98. The company's 50-day moving average is $79.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.72. The company has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. Principal Financial Group's payout ratio is 65.10%.

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.