UMB Bank n.a. Sells 1,651 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

UMB Bank n.a. lessened its holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,589 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,651 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. City Holding Co. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Principal Financial Group by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 25,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,011,000 after buying an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,663,000. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of PFG opened at $81.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.21 and a 52 week high of $91.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -90.73, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.15 and a 200-day moving average of $82.25.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Principal Financial Group had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 14.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PFG. Barclays increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.25.

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.