Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Acquired by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,903,138 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,516 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $149,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $253,990,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2,594.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 575,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,313,000 after acquiring an additional 554,606 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 282.0% in the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 308,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,633,000 after acquiring an additional 227,608 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 165.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 337,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,162,000 after acquiring an additional 210,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 586.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 234,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,267,000 after purchasing an additional 200,588 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PFG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Raymond James upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.2 %

PFG stock opened at $79.66 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.84. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.21 and a 52-week high of $88.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 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 in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.96%.

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.