Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Bought by Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,575 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PFG. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 319.3% during the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 499 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PFG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PFG opened at $85.61 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.21 and a 12-month high of $88.26. 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 $19.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.99.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current 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 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 is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.