Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 65.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 166,052 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,385 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.07% of Principal Financial Group worth $13,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $333,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 6.5% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 27,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.1% during the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 72,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $706,000. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 77.1% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 15,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. Bank of America increased their target price 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 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $85.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.99. The company has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.19. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.21 and a twelve month high of $88.26.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 14.92%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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

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.