Quarry LP Makes New $91,000 Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PFG. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 403.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,800,000 after purchasing an additional 284,067 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,698,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 282.0% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 308,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,633,000 after buying an additional 227,608 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 165.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 337,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,162,000 after buying an additional 210,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 586.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 234,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,267,000 after buying an additional 200,588 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $85.08 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.21 and a 12-month high of $88.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.