Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $2.92 Million Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 68.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,974 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,847 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on PFG. Barclays assumed coverage on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of PFG opened at $85.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.19. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.21 and a 12 month high of $88.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS 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 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

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