Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Has $10.71 Million Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,665 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,086 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group accounts for approximately 0.6% of Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.05% of Principal Financial Group worth $10,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,602,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,844,000 after purchasing an additional 152,774 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,905,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,393,000 after buying an additional 39,854 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,157,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,747,000 after acquiring an additional 200,056 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Principal Financial Group by 2.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,903,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,301,000 after acquiring an additional 53,516 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 6.6% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 692,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,786,000 after acquiring an additional 43,190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Raymond James raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PFG traded up $2.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $87.32. The company had a trading volume of 688,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,127,766. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $80.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.32. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.21 and a 1-year 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 stock has a market cap of $20.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.19.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio 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.