Czech National Bank Acquires 2,311 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 5.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 43,402 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,311 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $3,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,602,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,844,000 after purchasing an additional 152,774 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,905,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,393,000 after buying an additional 39,854 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,157,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,747,000 after buying an additional 200,056 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,903,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,301,000 after buying an additional 53,516 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in Principal Financial Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 692,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,786,000 after acquiring an additional 43,190 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $89.20 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.21 and a 12 month high of $89.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $80.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.40. The firm has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James raised Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.42.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.