California State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG)

California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG – Get Rating) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 427,261 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,064 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.17% of Principal Financial Group worth $30,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 307.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,133,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,223,000 after buying an additional 855,747 shares during the period. Natixis increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1,992.7% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis now owns 762,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,956,000 after purchasing an additional 726,477 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 404.3% in the 3rd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 348,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,162,000 after acquiring an additional 279,589 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,723,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,242,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,809,000 after acquiring an additional 259,942 shares in the last quarter. 74.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PFG. Credit Suisse Group lowered Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $61.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $78.64.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 3.5 %

PFG opened at $69.99 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $61.05 and a one year high of $96.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.41 and its 200-day moving average is $85.04. The company has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a PE ratio of 3.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.30.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.16. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 27.51%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.60%.

About Principal Financial Group

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Principal Financial Group, Inc engages in the investment management offering business. It offers financial products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients. It operates its business through following segments: Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, U.S.