Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Sold by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank reduced its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 45.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 87,389 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $8,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 24.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 127,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,994,000 after purchasing an additional 25,156 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 135.1% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 75,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,945,000 after acquiring an additional 43,548 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 58.2% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 45,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,533,000 after acquiring an additional 16,575 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 113.1% in the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 155,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,234,000 after acquiring an additional 82,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 6.4% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 42,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares during the period. 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 analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $86.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.21 and a 1-year high of $88.26. The stock has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.17.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). The firm 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.