LMR Partners LLP Invests $696,000 in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 144.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

PFG stock opened at $81.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.24 and a 200-day moving average of $81.15. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $91.98.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PFG. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.54.

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.