SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 168,771 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 94.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 168,771 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 43,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,728,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 28.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 290,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,997,000 after buying an additional 64,915 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth about $8,237,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,187,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 57,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,714 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:PFG opened at $89.20 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.19. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.21 and a twelve month high of $89.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $80.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 55.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PFG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.42.

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.