Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 14,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,000.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,157,181,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $741,960,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $273,276,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at $164,848,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 112.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,348,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,138,000 after buying an additional 1,244,668 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFG. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.67.
Principal Financial Group Trading Down 0.7%
Shares of NASDAQ PFG opened at $111.41 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.90 and a 1 year high of $116.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.84 and a 200 day moving average of $102.02. The stock has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.88.
Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.93%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.59%.
Principal Financial Group Company Profile
Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.
Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.
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