Ascent Group LLC Sells 1,965 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Ascent Group LLC cut its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 14.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,689 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,965 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $578,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $1,232,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth about $242,000. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 163.6% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 24,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 15,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 80.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001 shares in the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on PFG shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $85.90 on Tuesday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.21 and a twelve month high of $88.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $80.20 and its 200 day moving average is $81.22. 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 cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.19.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.