DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Has $2.94 Million Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lowered its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 44.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,000 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFG. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 19,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,453 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,301,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 30,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,369,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 469,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,338,000 after buying an additional 101,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.54.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG stock opened at $78.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.45 and a 200-day moving average of $81.22. The company has a market cap of $17.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $91.98.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 65.10%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.