Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. reduced its position in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 11,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 66.2% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 9,933 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 358.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 12,768 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Principal Financial Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,441,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 3.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 231,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,867,000 after purchasing an additional 6,817 shares during the period. 75.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Principal Financial Group Trading Up 0.6 %

PFG opened at $81.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a PE ratio of -90.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $81.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $91.97.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Principal Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently -324.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.25.

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.