Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lowered its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,017 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,326 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $2,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 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 increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. City State Bank now owns 8,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 5.0% in the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 3,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $82.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.21 and a fifty-two week high of $88.26. The stock has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.87.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 yield of 3.50%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Raymond James upgraded Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Two investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.