AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 6,001 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 80.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,451 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,001 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE PFG opened at $89.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.21 and a 52-week high of $89.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.40.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.42.

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.