Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 932.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,124,958 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,725,293 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 1.70% of Principal Financial Group worth $28,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,028,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,953,000 after purchasing an additional 150,598 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,910,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,081,000 after purchasing an additional 406,684 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 67.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,514,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,825,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816,343 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,113,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,986,000 after acquiring an additional 43,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,827,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,230,000 after acquiring an additional 118,518 shares during the last quarter. 70.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PFG stock opened at $77.78 on Thursday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.17 and a 1 year high of $96.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.30.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.13). Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 15.85%. The business had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.49 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is 39.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PFG. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 31st. 3M restated an “upgrade” rating on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Friday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.46.

About Principal Financial Group

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 Global Investors, Principal International, and U.S. Insurance Solutions segments.