D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Trims Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 11.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 318,410 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,775 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Principal Financial Group worth $24,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.2% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. City State Bank now owns 8,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 18.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock opened at $86.09 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 company has a market capitalization of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.18. 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 issued 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 business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 54.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFG shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Company 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.