385 Shares in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Purchased by Peterson Financial Group Inc.

Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFG. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the second quarter worth $33,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth $43,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 55.6% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PFG. Citigroup increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Principal Financial Group stock opened at $86.56 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.37 and a 12 month high of $91.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -320.00%.

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.