Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 533 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,230 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. KBC Group NV raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 58,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,022,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $265,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the third quarter worth approximately $825,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE PFG opened at $86.56 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.18, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.60 and a 200-day moving average of $82.23. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.37 and a 1-year high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -320.00%.

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.