Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $27.57 Million Stock Holdings in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 353,846 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,484 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $27,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,534,000 after buying an additional 118,722 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,129,000 after acquiring an additional 44,818 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Principal Financial Group by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,359,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,511,000 after acquiring an additional 264,383 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 806,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,293,000 after acquiring an additional 88,179 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 665,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,509,000 after purchasing an additional 125,198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down from $86.00) on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Principal Financial Group from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Principal Financial Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PFG opened at $83.06 on Monday. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.21 and a 12-month high of $91.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $84.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.69. The firm has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. This is an increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

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.