Capital Fund Management S.A. Buys Shares of 18,711 Principal Financial Group, Inc. $PFG

Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 18,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,486,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $861,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 220,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,500,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 44.3% during the second quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 192,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,264,000 after buying an additional 59,000 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 67.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 11,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 4,560 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.0%

PFG stock opened at $85.93 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.89. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.39 and a fifty-two week high of $90.31. 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 (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.12. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Principal Financial Group news, EVP Wee Yee Cheong sold 1,887 shares of Principal Financial Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.04, for a total transaction of $160,470.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,924,041.84. The trade was a 2.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on PFG. Morgan Stanley upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $80.00 to $81.00 in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.90.

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.