Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 571,488 shares of the company’s stock after selling 121,206 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.24% of Principal Financial Group worth $44,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. City State Bank grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. City State Bank now owns 8,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 3,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 5,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.4% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 5,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFG. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James raised Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $77.54 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $79.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a one year low of $66.21 and a one year high of $88.26.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 54.20%.

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.