Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 514 Shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:PFG) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,399 shares of the company’s stock after selling 514 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Principal Financial Group were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 81,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,445,000 after purchasing an additional 9,429 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9,002.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 163,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,853,000 after buying an additional 161,588 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $394,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,628,000 after acquiring an additional 2,602 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Principal Financial Group by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. 75.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on PFG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Principal Financial Group from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Principal Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.50.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PFG traded down $0.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $74.52. 504,095 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,129,273. Principal Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.21 and a 1-year high of $88.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $80.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $17.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.21.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Principal Financial Group, Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Principal Financial Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. Principal Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.96%.

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.