Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 1,013 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,013 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Principal Financial Group by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,360,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,030,000 after purchasing an additional 149,353 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 6.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 296,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,624,000 after buying an additional 18,368 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 108.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 53,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,624,000 after buying an additional 27,827 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 59.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 24,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,095,000 after acquiring an additional 9,048 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 8.6% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 181,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,689,000 after acquiring an additional 14,339 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.2 %

PFG opened at $85.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $66.21 and a one year high of $88.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $80.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.03.

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 expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.