M&G Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

M&G Plc trimmed its position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 893 shares during the period. M&G Plc’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 403.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,800,000 after purchasing an additional 284,067 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group during the second quarter worth $19,698,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 586.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 234,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,267,000 after acquiring an additional 200,588 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Principal Financial Group in the first quarter worth about $13,996,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Principal Financial Group by 2.4% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,602,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,844,000 after acquiring an additional 152,774 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Principal Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:PFG opened at $85.45 on Friday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.69 and a 52 week high of $91.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.95 and a 200-day moving average of $81.99. The company has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.94, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.20.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.26). Principal Financial Group had a positive return on equity of 14.67% and a negative net margin of 1.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently -320.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFG has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.58.

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.