ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 1,319 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,794 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.2% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. City State Bank grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. City State Bank now owns 8,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays began coverage on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.3 %

PFG stock opened at $85.99 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.10. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.21 and a fifty-two week high of $88.26. The firm has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.96%.

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.