Capital Research Global Investors Boosts Stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,967,857 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,989 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $384,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $771,000. Columbus Macro LLC lifted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 25,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 8,169 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 135.6% during the fourth quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 22,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 12,933 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2,064.3% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 148,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,480,000 after purchasing an additional 141,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Principal Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $65.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.69.

Principal Financial Group Stock Up 0.7 %

PFG stock opened at $72.14 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $91.98. The firm has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

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.