Assetmark Inc. Has $172,000 Stock Position in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Assetmark Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,997 shares of the company’s stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group by 403.6% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $19,698,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $13,996,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,602,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,844,000 after purchasing an additional 152,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 6,593.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 132,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,356,000 after purchasing an additional 130,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on PFG. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Principal Financial Group from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Principal Financial Group from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Principal Financial Group from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.58.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE PFG opened at $86.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -96.18, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.37 and a twelve month high of $91.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently -320.00%.

About Principal Financial Group

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.