Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Reduces Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 8.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,836 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,594.0% during the 4th 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 raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 403.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,800,000 after acquiring an additional 284,067 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $19,698,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 282.0% in the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 308,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,633,000 after purchasing an additional 227,608 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 165.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 337,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,162,000 after purchasing an additional 210,476 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock opened at $85.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.99. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.21 and a 52 week high of $88.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.19.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James raised Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.