Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Makes New Investment in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 251,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,698,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.11% of Principal Financial Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFG. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PFG. Raymond James upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.0 %

PFG stock opened at $85.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.99.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.96%.

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.