D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 103,880 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 64.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,064 shares of the company’s stock after selling 103,880 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $4,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $217,021,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 73.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,482,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,726,000 after purchasing an additional 627,865 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,546,000 after purchasing an additional 326,604 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,511,000 after purchasing an additional 264,383 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 398.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 291,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,555,000 after purchasing an additional 232,915 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PFG. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Principal Financial Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.54.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $81.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.08 and its 200 day moving average is $81.09. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.39 and a 52 week high of $91.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.10%.

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.