MBB Public Markets I LLC Invests $1.23 Million in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 15,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,232,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2,594.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 575,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,313,000 after buying an additional 554,606 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 284,067 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $19,698,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 282.0% in the 1st quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 308,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,633,000 after purchasing an additional 227,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised 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 purchasing an additional 210,476 shares during the period. 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 $85.90 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.21 and a 1 year high of $88.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.22. The firm has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PFG. Barclays initiated coverage on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.50.

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.