Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,868 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 655 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $1,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 3.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 27.1% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 298,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,422,000 after buying an additional 63,747 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $270,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Principal Financial Group during the second quarter valued at about $702,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 7.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 23,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,796,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $86.09 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.21 and a twelve month high of $88.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $80.16 and its 200 day moving average is $81.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.19.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.50.

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.