Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 22.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,696 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Principal Financial Group worth $12,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PFG. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.1% during the first quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 137,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 113.5% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 165,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,874,000 after acquiring an additional 88,100 shares during the last quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 76,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,415,000 after acquiring an additional 4,040 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,627,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 6,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFG. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $86.90.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PFG opened at $80.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.44. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.39 and a 1-year high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.19. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 62.78%.

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 Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.